ragamuffin
ragamuffin Lexical Profile
ragamuffin Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A person, typically a child, in ragged, dirty, or disheveled clothes.
"The stray dog was adopted by a cheerful little ragamuffin who shared his crusts of bread."
A breed of large, muscular domestic cat (Felis catus) closely related to the Ragdoll, characterized by a thick, rabbit-like semi-longhair coat in diverse colors and a docile, affectionate temperament.
"Her ragamuffin loves being carried around the house like a baby and greets every visitor at the door."
• adjective
Wearing ragged, dirty, or tattered clothes; shabby and unkempt in appearance.
"A group of ragamuffin children played barefoot in the dusty alleyway."
Word Origin & Etymology
Originally from Middle English Ragamoffyn, the name of a demon in William Langland's 1393 allegorical poem Piers Plowman, likely formed from the noun 'rag' combined with a fanciful ending.