tatterdemalion

American  

[tat-er-di-meyl-yuhn, -mal-] / ˌtæt ər dɪˈmeɪl yən, -ˈmæl- /

noun

1. a person in tattered clothing; a shabby person.

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adjective

1. ragged; unkempt or dilapidated.

tatterdemalion British  

/ ˌtætədɪˈmeɪljən, -ˈmæl- /

noun

1. rare

   1. a person dressed in ragged clothes

   2. ( as modifier )

      a tatterdemalion dress

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Etymology

Origin of tatterdemalion

1600–10; first written tatter-de-mallian and rhymed with Italian; see tatter ¹; -de-mallian < ?

Explanation

Use the word tatterdemalion for anyone who's dressed in messy, ragged clothes. You may want to call your brother a tatterdemalion if he shows up for Thanksgiving dinner wearing a dirty sweatshirt and his favorite ripped jeans. A slightly more common word for a tatterdemalion is a ragamuffin. As an adjective, tatterdemalion means "unkempt" or "shoddy," so go ahead and ask your brother, "Why are you wearing that tatterdemalion outfit?" While the tatter part of the word is fairly clear (a tatterdemalion's clothing is in tatters), the ending is a mystery. There may be a connection to the French de maillot, or "shirt."

Example Sentences

Off it flaps on tatterdemalion wings to wreak much CG-enabled property damage on downtown Philadelphia, where the picture is set.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 16, 2023

Arriving two weeks before the release of “Bones and All,” Luca Guadagnino’s tatterdemalion drifter romance, the director’s “Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams” surveys a more refined coupling, not of people, but of pumps.

From New York Times • Nov. 3, 2022

They perched on fence posts, on the roofs of vans, in tatterdemalion back yards.

From Washington Post • Apr. 3, 2018

Doubt and failure gnaw at him; he's a tatterdemalion schemer who knows, however potent his magic, that he's trafficking in forces that dwarf him.

From Time Magazine Archive

Freude, the tatterdemalion, has been asleep for some time on her chest, in her corner between the stove and the wall.

From Stories and Pictures by Peretz, Isaac Loeb