Tudor & Stuart · insult · noun
Tatterdemalion
tat-er-dih-MAYL-yun /ˌtætədɪˈmeɪljən/pronunciation given by a dictionary
First recordedc. 1600
A ragged, tattered person; a ragamuffin. The ending is a made-up flourish (early spellings rhyme it with 'Italian'). From the 1610s it is also an adjective, 'ragged, tumbledown'.
Where it was first recorded
Dated c. 1600 by Etymonline; earliest text seen is Thomas Dekker, The Seven Deadly Sinnes of London (1606)
Also spelled: tatterdemallion, tatter-de-mallian, totterdemalion, tatterdimalian
In its own time
but also in time driue the whole band of Tatterdemalions from poste to piller.
Today
Modern exampleA tatterdemalion band of volunteers turned up to clear the beach, and did a brilliant job.
Fine to use, especially as an adjective for something scruffy or ramshackle; be kind if aiming it at people who are genuinely poor.
Etymonline notes a possible influence from 'Tartar' in a period sense of 'vagabond, gypsy'; that link is speculative and the word itself carries no ethnic meaning today.
Questions
What does tatterdemalion mean?
A ragged, tattered person; a ragamuffin. The ending is a made-up flourish (early spellings rhyme it with 'Italian'). From the 1610s it is also an adjective, 'ragged, tumbledown'.
When was tatterdemalion first used?
It is first recorded c. 1600.
Can you still use tatterdemalion today?
Fine to use, especially as an adjective for something scruffy or ramshackle; be kind if aiming it at people who are genuinely poor.
Sources
- tatterdemalion — Online Etymology Dictionary
- Tatterdemalion — Murray's New English Dictionary (OED1), via WEHD
- tatterdemalion — Merriam-Webster
- Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 ed.) — Francis Grose (Project Gutenberg #5402)
- tatterdemalion — Dictionary.com (Random House Unabridged)
- The Seven Deadly Sinnes of London (1606), EEBO-TCP text A20082 — Text Creation Partnership (GitHub)
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above