Definition of ramshackle

The word "ramshackle" originated in the mid-19th century, specifically around the 1850s. It is a combination of two words - "ram" and "shackle". "Ram" is an old English word that initially referred to a male sheep. However, by the mid-1800s, it came to mean any kind of rough, crude, or poorly constructed structure. It was often applied to huts or sheds made from scraps of wood and other materials. "Shackle" is a term that has been in use since the 1300s, initially meaning a restraining device or a chain that prevents movement. It was eventually extended to describe any structure that seemed as if it were bound by chains, as the makeshift shacks and huts built from scraps of wood appeared to be chained together haphazardly. The word "ramshackle" was coined as a compound of these two words to define a crude, makeshift structure composed of scrap materials, bound haphazardly together, resembling the rough structure of a male sheep. Today, it is widely used in everyday language as a metaphor for anything poorly constructed, incomplete, or falling apart.