Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

abraham man

/ˈeɪ.bɹəˌhæm mæn/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.97 in modern English

Syllables: abra-ham -man
IPA: /ˈeɪ.bɹəˌhæm mæn/

19

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A mentally ill beggar.

British usage; Obsolete

noun

Any beggar who pretends to be ill, physically or mentally, to obtain alms.

Example Sentences

"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."
"Of all the mad rascalls (that are of this wing) the Abraham-man is the most phantastick: The fellow (quoth this old Lady of the Lake unto me) that sat halfe naked (at table to day) from the girdle upward, is the best Abraham-man that ever came to my house and the notablest villaine: he sweares he hath bin in bedlam, and will talke frantickly of purpose[…]"

Etymology

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.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈeɪ.bɹəˌhæm mæn/

Usage

British usage
Obsolete

Inflected Forms

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

Phrases

sham Abraham sham Abram

Synonyms

Abraham cove Abraham-cove Abram Abram-cove Abram cove Bedlam beggar God's minstrel Poor Tom Tom of Bedlam Tom of Bedlam's man

Questions

How do you pronounce abraham man?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈeɪ.bɹəˌhæm mæn/.
What does abraham man mean?: A mentally ill beggar.
Where does abraham man come from?: 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.

How to pronounce abraham man

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