• tatterdemalion •
Printable Version Pronunciation: tæ-dêr-dê-may-lyên • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Ragamuffin, a person in dirty, raggedy clothes, usually implying a child.
Notes: Today's Good Word is a lexical orphan presenting no pronunciation or spelling pitfalls other than in its length. It is a jaunty word that lies in danger of being ignored out of the language, so its service as today's Good Word is a call to put it to more frequent use.
In Play: We usually associate raggedness with poverty: "Aurora, my little darling, I would prefer that you play with someone other than the tatterdemalions down at the public playground." The fact of the matter is, however, the tatterdemalion look has become quite fashionable today, though some parents fail to keep up with the styles: "Lucy, don't go out looking like a tatterdemalion; you have jeans without holes in them to wear to school."
Word History: Today's eccentric word is the tatter of (to be in) tatters followed by a factitious, rather Frenchy element suggesting that it might be an ethnic derivative. Tatter is of Scandinavian origin, no doubt brought in by the Viking invasions of northern England in the 9th through the 11th centuries. It is very similar to Old Norse taturr which shows up later in Icelandic töturr [ö = e with your lips rounded], plural tötrar "tatters, rags". A similar form has been reported in Norwegian dialects as totra, plural totror. The rest of the word, -demalion, is a mystery without clues.
P.S. - Register for the Daily Good Word E-Mail! - You can get our daily Good Word sent directly to you via e-mail in either HTML or Text format. Go to our Registration Page to sign up today!
