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tatterdemalion

tat·ter·de·malion

UK/tætədəˈmeɪliɒn/ uncommon
noun (1) adjective (2)

noun

1.

adjective

1.

worn to shreds; or wearing torn or ragged clothing

  • “a man in a tattered shirt”
  • “the tattered flag”
  • “tied up in tattered brown paper”
  • “a tattered barefoot boy”
  • “a tatterdemalion prince”
Synonyms
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2.

in deplorable condition

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

Origin

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”).

Related words

Broader terms

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