In historical British usage, a badgeman was a resident of an almshouse — a charitable institution providing housing for the poor, elderly, or infirm — who was required to wear a badge identifying them as a recipient of charity. The badge served as both a mark of their dependent status and a form of social control. In a broader, more literal sense, any man who wears a badge (such as a security guard or official) could technically be called a badgeman, though this usage is uncommon. The almshouse sense is the historically significant one.
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UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
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The parish records listed him as a badgeman, having lived out his final years in the church almshouse.
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A man who wears a badge.
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(UK) An almshouse man.
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