tatterdemalion

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Definitions (7)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A person wearing ragged or tattered clothing; a ragamuffin.
  2. adjective Ragged; tattered.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (1)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (3)

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Examples

  • And now and again in his course of fraud did he not turn a wistful eye towards any reckless tatterdemalion, if only the vagrant lived in freedom and in truth? —  Robert Browning
  • A tatterdemalion, a strange breed of Faerie creature formed of the memories of dead children, come alive out of circumstance and chance and to live a mayfly existence that was over almost before it was begun. —  Armageddon's Children
  • The tatterdemalion was making a point of telling her that her conscience might become an issue for her. —  Armageddon's Children
  • A tatterdemalion, a creature of Faerie, was not the worst choice. —  Armageddon's Children
  • The tatterdemalion, an ethereal figure in the fading light, looked back over her shoulder and blinked. —  Armageddon's Children
 

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Tatterdemalion has been looked up 483 times, favorited 10 times, listed 97 times, and commented on twice.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Probably tattered + -demalion, of unknown meaning.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Early modern English also tatterdemallion, tatterdemalean, tatterdemalion, tattertimallion; apparently a fanciful term, from tatter. The terminal element is obscure; the de is perhaps used with no more precision than in hobbledehoy, and the last part may have been orig., as it is now, entirely meaningless.
 

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/tætərdəˈmeɪlɪən/
by American Heritage

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