Dictionary

street Arab en · NOUN

Etymology

So-called because they were nomadic, with no fixed home.

Meanings

1. (dated) A homeless child who roams the streets, usually begging for handouts; a street urchin.
   • ‘It's the Baker Street division of the detective police force,’ said my companion, gravely; and as he spoke there rushed into the room half a dozen of the dirtiest and most ragged street Arabs that ever I clapped eyes on. 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, section VI:

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