Abraham man

名词 n.
中文释义
美 /ˈeɪ.bɹəˌhæm mæn/|/ˈeɪ.bɹə.həm mæn/

英文释义

名词 n.
  1. A mentally ill beggar. UK,obsolete
  2. Any beggar who pretends to be ill, physically or mentally, to obtain alms. broadly
    — An Abraham man is he that walketh bare armed, and bare legged, and fayneth hymselfe mad, and caryeth a packe of wool, or a stycke with baken on it, or such lyke toy, and nameth himselfe poore Tom.

词形变化

Abraham men plural Abraham-man alternative Abrahamman alternative Abram man alternative Abram-man alternative Abramman alternative

词汇关系

近义词
Abraham cove Abraham-cove Abram Abram-cove Abram cove Bedlam beggar God's minstrel Poor Tom Tom of Bedlam Tom of Bedlam's man
衍生词
sham Abraham sham Abram

词源

From patients claiming, genuinely or not, to be temporarily discharged from the Abraham ward at Bethlem Royal Hospital (also known as Bedlam), a psychiatric hospital in London, for the purpose of begging. Possibly an allusion to a story in Luke 16, in which the beggar Lazarus ends up in Abraham's bosom. First use appears c. 1561 in The Fraternity of Vagabonds (1561) by John Awdely.
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