ragamuffin
/ˈɹæɡəˌmʌfɪn/
"ragamuffin" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ragamuffin” is uncommon English (frequency #96,390 among 21,470 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #96,390
- frequency rank, English
- 21,470
- “R” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A dirty, shabbily-clothed child; an urchin.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ragamuffin · ragamuffin · English
ragamuffin · rank #96,390 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #96,390
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 21,470
- PHOTO-FINISH Ragusa
Nearest frequency peer: Ragusa (+1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “ragamuffin”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- propyl
propyl
3,619 corpus weight
- putatively
putatively
3,615 corpus weight
- ragamuffin
ragamuffin
3,611 corpus weight
- Ragusa
Ragusa
3,610 corpus weight
- Rahab
Rahab
3,609 corpus weight
- Rattigan
Rattigan
3,605 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “ragamuffin” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ragamuffin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɹæɡəˌmʌfɪn/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #96,390 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ragamuffin” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
ragamuffin is uncommon English at frequency #96,390 among 21,470 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɹæɡəˌmʌfɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
ragamuffin has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the Middle English Ragamuffyn. Of uncertain origin, according to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: A muffin is a poor thing of a creature, a ‘regular muff’; so that a ragamuffin is a sorry creature in rags. The correct English form is ragamuffin, spelled R-A-G-A-M-U-F-F-I-N.
Definition
- 1A dirty, shabbily-clothed child; an urchin.
- 2A hooligan or troublemaker.
- 3Alternative letter-case form of Ragamuffin (“breed of domestic cat”).
Etymology
From the Middle English Ragamuffyn. Of uncertain origin, according to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: A muffin is a poor thing of a creature, a ‘regular muff’; so that a ragamuffin is a sorry creature in rags.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ragamuffin", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.