Word – Ragamuffin

Ragamuffin – Word of the Day

Meaning:

A person(usually a child), in ragged and/or dirty clothes.

Origin:

We are still uncertain about the origin of the word ragamuffin. In Middle English the word functioned both as a last name, and generically to denote a ragged and sometimes stupid person. Its earliest known literary use is in William Langland’s Middle English alliterative poem Piers Plowman.

The muffin part of the word may have its origin in either of two Anglo-Norman words for a devil or scoundrel, but that too is uncertain. As English lexicographer Samuel Johnson put it, “From rag and I know not what else.”

Usage:

1. It was horrifying to see those kids look like little ragamuffins!
2. Wealthy men in suits were behaving like ragamuffins on the first day of the Winter Session of the Senate.
3. A band of ragamuffins were haranguing anyone who stepped out of the railway station and looked like they had a bit of money.
4. I need to drive these ragamuffins away from my store! Otherwise they will scare the customers away.
5. The army looked more like a band of ragamuffins than a professional fighting force. 
6. The poor girl was dressed like a ragamuffin; no one will give her a job because of this.