ragamuffin

noun

rag·​a·​muf·​fin ˈra-gə-ˌmə-fən 

: a ragged often disreputable person

especially : a poorly clothed often dirty child

Did you know?

If you've guessed that rag or ragged is related to ragamuffin, you may be correct, but the origins of the word are somewhat murky. In Middle English, ragamuffin functioned both as a surname and generically to denote a ragged (and sometimes stupid) person, and in the Middle English alliterative poem Piers Plowman William Langland used the word to serve as the name of a demon. The muffin part of ragamuffin may have its origin in either of two Anglo-Norman words for a devil or scoundrel, but that too is uncertain. No matter its muddied history—the word has continued to develop in modern times. It can also refer to a type of music with rap lyrics and a reggae beat.

Examples of ragamuffin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And the best way to clear a driveway piled with snow is to hire some neighborhood ragamuffins with snow shovels, pay them some cash, and give them a belt of hot chocolate. —Steven Levy, WIRED, 5 Apr. 2024

The young ragamuffin helped turn corrido tumbado into a global chart-topper (and moneymaker) and proved that Latin American artists don’t have to compromise to reach that level of acclaim. —Pitchfork, 13 Dec. 2023

The Moser family — Lubo, his wife and three cheerfully ragamuffin little kids — are a troupe of travelling performers who earn their keep putting on shows in the local towns. —Jessica Kiang, Variety, 7 Sep. 2023

The reunion between ragamuffin Georgie and boyish Jason also recalls Peter Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon from 50 years ago, a movie set during the Great Depression, an exercise in nostalgia. —Armond White, National Review, 30 Aug. 2023

Then there is the rest of the ragamuffin roster that was picked to finish seventh in the Big 12, a conference so prestigious that its most noteworthy programs — Oklahoma and Texas — can’t wait to leave. —Billy Witz Sasha Portis, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2022

Right or wrong, San Diego teams are looked at like the unkempt, ragamuffin. —John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Dec. 2022

The baby was plump, and came to be called Tumpy (for Humpty Dumpty), a moniker that persisted well after poverty had thinned her into a ragamuffin. —Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022

At least as the wryly morose Shakespeare, a ragamuffin-ish Nolte makes this journey occasionally captivating and lively — if not, ultimately, one worth seeing through to the end. —Nick Schager, Variety, 21 Dec. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Ragamuffyn, name for a ragged, oafish person

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

ragamuffin

noun

rag·​a·​muf·​fin ˈrag-ə-ˌməf-ən 

: a poorly clothed often dirty child