Link Centre Dictionary

ramshackle

rams·hackle

UK/ˈɹæmˌʃæk.əl/ US/ˈræˌmʃækʌl/ uncommon obsolete

adjective

1.

in deplorable condition

  • “a street of bedraggled tenements”
  • “a broken-down fence”
  • “a ramshackle old pier”
  • “a tumble-down shack”

Origin

First attested in 1830, a back-formation from ramshackled, from ransackled, past participle of ransackle (“to ransack”), frequentative of Middle English ransaken (“to pillage”).

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.