bluegown means one of a class of paupers or pensioners, or licensed beggars, in Scotland, who received certain alms every year on the king's birthday, including a blue gown. It carries an Arena rating of 1313, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, bluegown ranks #1,338 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #1,685 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #2,090 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #2,700 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words.
Why “bluegown” is a great word
BLUEGOWN — [Noun] One of a class of licensed beggars or almsmen in Scotland, historically provided with a blue gown as part of their annual royal charity. From blue (the color) + gown (a long, loose garment), so called from the distinctive blue gown worn as the badge of this class of pauper. Unlike a "beadsman," whose intercessory prayers defined a more general religious obligation, or a "vagabond," whose rootlessness implied lawless itinerancy, the bluegown was a specific, settled, and officially recognized Scottish figure. It is the coarse weave of a state-issued garment fading against grey stone, the ritual doling-out of the King's Bounty on the royal birthday, and the quiet transaction of alms for prescribed prayers—a poverty made orderly and draped in royal livery, a kept ghost whose place on the margin was officially ordained.
Etymology
From blue + gown.
noun
- One of a class of paupers or pensioners, or licensed beggars, in Scotland, who received certain alms every year on the king's birthday, including a blue gown.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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