ragamuffin
[rag-uh-muhf-in]
- a ragged, disreputable person; tatterdemalion.
- a child in ragged, ill-fitting, dirty clothes.
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Origin of ragamuffin
1350–1400; Middle English Ragamoffyn, name of a demon in the poem Piers Plowman
Synonyms
See more synonyms for ragamuffin on Thesaurus.com2. waif, urchin, guttersnipe, street arab.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ragamuffin
Historical Examples
"I'll give you the bulliest shine you ever had," said the ragamuffin.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
I feel enough like a sneakin' ragamuffin and housebreaker as 'tis.
Thankful's InheritanceJoseph C. Lincoln
Then he is known as the "ragamuffin," on account of his covering of rags.
The Devil's PoolGeorge Sand
For this exploit the ragamuffin is lauding him to the skies.
The Works of Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe
Playing marbles with some of your ragamuffin friends, I suppose.
Fame and FortuneHoratio Alger, Jr.
ragamuffin
- a ragged unkempt person, esp a child
- another name for ragga
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Word Origin
C14 Ragamoffyn, name of a demon in the poem Piers Plowman (1393); probably based on rag 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for ragamuffin
n.
mid-14c., "demon," also in surnames (Isabella Ragamuffyn, 1344), from Middle English raggi "ragged" ("rag-y"?) + fanciful ending (or else second element is Middle Dutch muffe "mitten"). Or, as Johnson has it, "From rag and I know not what else." Ragged was used of the devil from c.1300 in reference to "shaggy" appearance. Raggeman was used by Langland as the name of a demon, and cf. Old French Ragamoffyn, name of a demon in a mystery play. Sense of "dirty, disreputable boy" is from 1580s. Cf. in the same sense ragabash (c.1600).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper