ragman

American  

[rag-man, -muhn] / ˈrægˌmæn, -mən /

noun

• ragmen
  plural

1. a person who gathers or deals in rag.

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ragman British  

/ ˈræɡˌmæn /

noun

1. another name for rag-and-bone man

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ragmen
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ragman

First recorded in 1350–1400; rag ¹ + man

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ragman ragmen

One hundred years ago today, Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch, the son of a Moscow-born Russian Jewish ragman, in upstate New York.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 9, 2016

Sandy Alderson, the Mets’ general manager, has proved a fine ragman by picking players off scrap heaps.

From New York Times ● Oct. 4, 2016

“The coal being thrown down the chute for the radiators. The ragman on the street, calling out so we’d throw down old clothes.”

From New York Times ● May 30, 2014

Feature film starring veteran Broadway actor Lou Gilbert in the story of an eccentric ragman on the Manhattan waterfront whose attempt to help an abandoned girl leads to his own destruction.

From Time Magazine Archive

Luck smiled on me the next day, and I managed to steal a bundle of rags off the back of a wagon and sell them to a ragman for four iron pennies.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

“I’d always see the ragmen, who collected rags for a living,” he said in a 1992 interview with the Times.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 26, 2020

“I’d always see the ragmen, who collected rags for a living,” he said in a 1992 interview with The Times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2020

The ragmen very readily accepted this offer, and, accompanied by the landlord, repaired to Farmer Liddon’s house. 

From The Surprising Adventures of Bampfylde Moore Carew King of the Beggars; containing his Life, a Dictionary of the Cant Language, and many Entertaining Particulars of that Extraordinary Man by Unknown

"Yes, and dirty old beggars and ragmen," said Florence, "and nasty, muddy streets."

From A Sweet Little Maid by Amy Ella Blanchard

Even the perfumers, hay-dealers, and ragmen had their societies.

From The Common People of Ancient Rome Studies of Roman Life and Literature by Frank Frost Abbott