ragamuffin
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From the Middle English Ragamuffyn.
[edit] Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈrægəˌmʌfɪn/
- Audio (US)help, file
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
ragamuffin (plural ragamuffins)
- A dirty, shabbily-clothed child; an urchin.
- (According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable): A muffin is a poor thing of a creature, a 'regular muff'; so that a ragamuffin is a sorry creature in rags.
- A breed of domestic cat which is an off shoot from the Ragdoll.
[edit] Usage notes
- Currently this word is slang, used either for anachronistic effect or as dialogue in historical fiction.
[edit] Quotations
| 1597 | 1868 1877 1882 | 1906 1916 | |||||
| ME: [[{{{enm}}}]] « | 15th c. | 16th c. | 17th c. | 18th c. | 19th c. | 20th c. | 21st c. |
- 1597 — William Shakespeare, 1 Hen IV v 3
- I have led my ragamuffins where they are peppered: there's not three of my hundred and fifty left alive; and they are for the town's end, to beg during life.
- 1868 — Louisa May Alcott, Little Women, Ch. 47
- “But may I inquire how you intend to support the establishment? If all the pupils are little ragamuffins, I’m afraid your crop won’t be profitable in a worldly sense, Mr. Bhaer.”
- 1877 — Anna Sewell, Black Beauty
- "They called her a little `blue' ragamuffin, father," said Harry, who ran in looking very angry; "but I have given it to them; they won't insult my sister again.
- 1882 — Mark Twain, The Prince and the Pauper, Ch. 12
- 'Yes, he is mine—I took him, a homeless little ragamuffin, but I saw what was in him, and I said his name would be heard some day—behold him, observe him—was I right?'
- 1906 — Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, Ch. 18
- After walking a ways, Jurgis met a little ragamuffin whom he hailed: "Hey, sonny!"
- 1916 — John Buchan, Greenmantle, Ch. 15
- He had found out the house of Frau von Einem without much trouble, and had performed with his ragamuffins in the servants' quarters.
