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You are here: Home / Language / What does rigmarole mean and Where does the word “rigmarole” come from?

What does rigmarole mean and Where does the word “rigmarole” come from?

June 19, 2020 by Karen Hill

The reason is not known, but back in the fourteenth century a list or roll of names was called a ragman.

Later this was altered to ragman, and the list itself was generally called ragman roll.

Perhaps because, like in a dictionary, the subject matter in a list or roll changes frequently, ragman roll became equivalent to a series of disconnected statements.

In the process its own name became altered, by the eighteenth century, to rigmarole.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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