Ragabrash

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Refers to a disreputable, shabby person or to the disorderly rabble of common people
2. Describes a ragged, unruly crowd or a scruffy, disreputable individual of low standing
3. A scruffy, disorderly person or a motley group of low-class, disreputable folk

Etymology: "Ragabrash" is an alternative spelling of "ragabash," a word for someone who is disreputable, unruly, or a bit of a scamp. The word is an English formation, and its form points to the same sort of playful invention that gave us many lively slang terms in the centuries after it arrived. The spelling "ragabash" has the feel of a word that was shaped by sound rather than by a clear classical pedigree. Its "rag" element suggests the ragged, the tattered, or the low-born, and the "-abash" ending gives it a bouncy, rhyming quality that makes it easy to say loudly. Dictionaries record both spellings as variants of the same term, so the difference between them is one of orthography rather than meaning.