the.com/ragamuffin

means A raggedly dressed, unkempt person — especially a scruffy child — whose clothes are torn and tattered but whose spirit isn't.

from Traces back to Middle English, showing up in the 1300s (notably in Piers Plowman, where 'Ragamuffyn' appears as a demon's name) — built from 'rag,' the torn cloth, fused with a muffin-ish or goblin-ish sounding tail that scholars think echoed medieval names for scruffy devils and hobgoblins. So the word was born half out of literal rags, half out of the sound of something raggedy and low-born. By the time it settled into everyday English, the demonic edge wore off, leaving just the tattered, lovable urchin behind.