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clochard

homeless person

noun kloh-SHAR Rare

Origin: From French clochard, from clocher (to limp), referring historically to vagrants.

Also means

tramp

Usage Note

Clochard is a French loanword used in Italian journalism and everyday speech for a homeless person sleeping rough. It is grammatically masculine (il clochard, i clochard — invariable plural) but can refer to people of any gender. A more neutral alternative is senzatetto.

Examples

"Un clochard dormiva sotto il ponte."

Natural Translation

A homeless man was sleeping under the bridge.

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