different between hamshackle vs ramshackle

English

Etymology

ham +? shackle

Verb

hamshackle (third-person singular simple present hamshackles, present participle hamshackling, simple past and past participle hamshackled)

1. (transitive) To tie (an animal) by a rope binding the head to one of the forelegs.

   to hamshackle a horse or cow

2. (transitive, figuratively) To bind or restrain; to impose restrictions upon.

References

hamshackle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

English

Etymology

First attested 1830, back-formation from ramshackled, from ransackled, past participle of ransackle (“to ransack”), frequentative of Middle English ransaken (“to pillage”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: r?m?sh?k'?l, IPA^(key): /??æm??æk.?l/

Adjective

ramshackle (comparative more ramshackle, superlative most ramshackle)

1. In disrepair or disorder; poorly maintained; lacking upkeep, usually of buildings or vehicles.

   • There came […] my lord the cardinal, in his ramshackle coach.

   • 1914, David Lloyd George

     A ramshackle old empire. (of Austria-Hungary).

   They stayed in a ramshackle cabin on the beach.

   He entered the ramshackle bus, and was driven a long distance through very sandy streets to the hotel on the St. Lawrence.

Synonyms

• (in disrepair or disorder): See Thesaurus:ramshackle

Translations

Verb

ramshackle (third-person singular simple present ramshackles, present participle ramshackling, simple past and past participle ramshackled)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To ransack.