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🇮🇹Italian Source WordCode: IT

Straccivendolo

Pronunciation / Transliteration: /strat.t͡ʃiˈvɛn.do.lo/

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Rag-and-bone man/ˌræɡ.ənˈbəʊn ˌmæn/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #15200 frequency
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🇮🇹 Example Sentence in Italian:

"Lo straccivendolo raccoglieva vecchi stracci e oggetti di metallo."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A person who travels through neighborhoods collecting discarded household items, such as rags, old clothes, and bones, to sell them for recycling or reuse.

    "In Victorian London, the rag-and-bone man was a familiar figure pushing a handcart down cobbled streets."
  2. 2

    A historical colloquial title for an itinerant scrap dealer or junk collector.

    "My grandfather used to tell stories of trading old metal and bottles to the local rag-and-bone man."
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Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term dates back to the early 19th century in Britain during the Industrial Revolution, combining 'rag' (discarded cloth), 'bone' (animal bones used for glue and fertilizer), and 'man'. These itinerant collectors walked the streets calling out to purchase or salvage unwanted household waste, playing a crucial early role in urban recycling before municipal waste management systems were established.

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Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

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