• gaberlunzie •
Printable Version Pronunciation: gæ-bêr-lên-zee • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: 1. A strolling beggar or mendicant. 2. A beadsman (a licensed beggar in Scotland).
Notes: Today's Good Word is a lexical orphan, without accompanying adjective or verb. Americans may have never encountered this word; it does not occur in any US dictionary that I know of. However, it is alive and well in Scotland, where I recently heard it spoken, to my surprise.
In Play: Today's rather arcane yet living word refers to a wandering beggar, as opposed to those who settle down in one place: "Candy Cain's neighborhood is located as far from reality as possible, save for the occasional gaberlunzie who wanders through." However, metaphorical applications will probably be more useful: "If you lose your job when you are over 50 years old, you are likely to become a job gaberlunzie, begging for any position you can find."
Word History: 
All we know about this Good Word's past is that it seems to be made up of gaber and lunzie. Now, lunzie is the traditional spelling of a word lunyie "loin". The first part of the word suggests gaberdine, a smock or coarse cloak worn by medieval pilgrims. It is only interesting because blue-gown was another name for gaberlunzies in the Middle Ages—suggestive but inconclusive. If gaberlunzie came from the notion of someone with loins girded in a gaberdine, we have to explain such a placement of a garment usually worn on the shoulders.
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