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

“Even on Eagle Street, in the poorest section of town, where all the families were struggling, the ragman was on the lowest rung on the ladder,” Mr. Douglas wrote.

From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2020

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

“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

The raw material for the estimated $30 million annual business often results from a closetcleaning housewife's call to a ragman or the Salvation Army.

From Time Magazine Archive

I knew that the items must belong to a ragman, but there was something eerie about the way they were sorted, as though they were pagan offerings.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

“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

For travellers must carry bags, And swagmen have to hump their swags   Like bottle-ohs or ragmen.

From The Magic Pudding Being the Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and His Friends Bill Barnacle & Sam Sawnoff by Norman Lindsay

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

"I thought so, handsome ragmen," returned the visitor.

From The False Chevalier or, The Lifeguard of Marie Antoinette by W. D. (William Douw) Lighthall