Encountered tatterdemalion in my readings today. Not familiar with the word I, of course, hurried to http://OneLook.com and found it to mean ragamuffin, a person in tattered clothing. The interesting thing is the etymology is given as origin unknown. Except for the Pocket OE which says tatter is, of course, the root, but that the "ending is unexplained."

demalion

Any theories?