tatterdemalion
/tætədəˈmeɪliɒn/ adjective, noun
Forms tatterdemalions
Synonyms
shabby tacky scroungy mean beat beat up beaten up bedraggled broken-down crumbling derelict dilapidated draggled neglected ramshackle ruinous run-down seedy timeworn tumbledown ragamuffin tattered tumble-down
Etymology
First attested circa 1608. An early spelling was tatter-de-mallion, rhymed with Italian. The first part of the word is tatter; the origin of the second part is uncertain; Ebenezer Cobham Brewer suggested it might be from de maillot (“shirt”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A ragged fellow; a ragamuffin. L'Estrange.
Etymology [Tatter + OF. desmaillier to break the meshes of, to tear: cf. OF. maillon long clothes, swadding clothes, F. maillot. See Tatter, and Mail armor.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “tatterdemalion”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details