tatterdemalion

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tatterdemalion

/tætədəˈmeɪliɒn/ UK

Where it comes from

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”).

adjective more tatterdemalion · most tatterdemalion

Tattered. The house, on his arrival, seemed in some confusion, as if a catastrophe had happened in the family; and the servants clustered together in the hall, and were unable, or perhaps not altogether anxious, to suppress their merriment at the tatterdemalion figure of the secretary.
Similar: shabby, tacky, scroungy, mean, beat, beat up, beaten up, bedraggled, broken-down, crumbling, derelict, dilapidated

noun tatterdemalions

A person with tattered clothing. […] we haue ordeined that through euery ward […] there be erected one sound, sufficient, and well painted whipping poste, the very sight of which wil not only scarre them, worse then the scowting face of a Serieant being seen peeping through a red lettice, frights a yong gallant, but also in time dr
Similar: ragamuffin

Translations

Every language

noun person with tattered clothing

Français	loqueteux

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MLA

"tatterdemalion." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tatterdemalion. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tatterdemalion. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tatterdemalion

Chicago

"tatterdemalion." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tatterdemalion.

BibTeX

@misc{tatterdemalion_2026,
  title = {tatterdemalion},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tatterdemalion},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}