Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Rag

Rag

(răg)
,
Verb.
T.
[Cf. Icel.
rægja
to calumniate, OHG.
ruogen
to accuse, G.
rügen
to censure, AS.
wrēgan
, Goth.
wrōhjan
to accuse.]
To scold or rail at; to rate; to tease; to torment; to banter.
[Prov. Eng.]
Pegge.

Rag

,
Noun.
[OE.
ragge
, probably of Scand, origin; cf. Icel.
rögg
a tuft, shagginess, Sw.
ragg
rough hair. Cf.
Rug
,
Noun.
]
1.
A piece of cloth torn off; a tattered piece of cloth; a shred; a tatter; a fragment.
Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers, tossed,
And fluttered into
rags
.
Milton.
Not having otherwise any
rag
of legality to cover the shame of their cruelty.
Fuller.
2.
pl.
Hence, mean or tattered attire; worn-out dress.
And virtue, though in
rags
, will keep me warm.
Dryden.
3.
A shabby, beggarly fellow; a ragamuffin.
The other zealous
rag
is the compositor.
B. Jonson.
Upon the proclamation, they all came in, both tag and
rag
.
Spenser.
4.
(Geol.)
A coarse kind of rock, somewhat cellular in texture.
5.
(Metal Working)
A ragged edge.
6.
A sail, or any piece of canvas.
[Nautical Slang]
Our ship was a clipper with every
rag
set.
Lowell.
Rag bolt
,
an iron pin with barbs on its shank to retain it in place.
–
Rag carpet
,
a carpet of which the weft consists of narrow strips of cloth sewed together, end to end.
–
Rag dust
,
fine particles of ground-up rags, used in making papier-maché and wall papers.
–
Rag wheel
.
(a)
A chain wheel; a sprocket wheel
.
(b)
A polishing wheel made of disks of cloth clamped together on a mandrel.
–
Rag wool
,
wool obtained by tearing woolen rags into fine bits, shoddy.

Rag

(răg)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Ragged
(răgd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Ragging
(răg′gĭng)
.]
To become tattered.
[Obs.]

Rag

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To break (ore) into lumps for sorting.
2.
To cut or dress roughly, as a grindstone.

Webster 1828 Edition

Rag

RAG

,
Noun.
[Gr. a torn garment; tear; a rupture, a rock, a crag; to tear asunder.]
1.
Any piece of cloth torn from the rest; a tattered cloth, torn or worn till its texture is destroyed. Linen and cotton rags are the chief materials of paper.
2.
Garments worn out; proverbially, mean dress.
Drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. Prov. 23.
And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm.
3.
A fragment of dress.

Definition 2024

rag

rag

See also: RAG, rág, räg, and råg

English

Noun

rag ‎(plural rags)

  1. (in the plural) Tattered clothes.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Dryden
      Virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm.
  2. A piece of old cloth; a tattered piece of cloth; a shred, a tatter.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Milton
      Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers, tossed, / And fluttered into rags.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Fuller
      Not having otherwise any rag of legality to cover the shame of their cruelty.
  3. A shabby, beggarly fellow; a ragamuffin.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Ben Jonson
      The other zealous rag is the compositor.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Spenser
      Upon the proclamation, they all came in, both tag and rag.
  4. A ragged edge in metalworking.
  5. (nautical, slang) A sail, or any piece of canvas.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Lowell
      Our ship was a clipper with every rag set.
  6. (slang, pejorative) A newspaper, magazine.
  7. (poker) A poor, low-ranking kicker.
    I have ace-four on my hand. In other words, I have ace-rag.
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

rag ‎(third-person singular simple present rags, present participle ragging, simple past and past participle ragged)

  1. (intransitive) To become tattered.

Etymology 2

Unknown origin; perhaps the same word as Etymology 1, above.

Noun

rag ‎(plural rags)

  1. A coarse kind of rock, somewhat cellular in texture; ragstone.
    • 2003, Peter Ackroyd, The Clerkenwell Tales, page 1:
      the three walls around the garden, each one of thirty-three feet, were built out of three layers of stone — pebble stone, flint and rag stone.

Verb

rag ‎(third-person singular simple present rags, present participle ragging, simple past and past participle ragged)

  1. To break (ore) into lumps for sorting.
  2. To cut or dress roughly, as a grindstone.

Etymology 3

Origin uncertain.

Verb

rag ‎(third-person singular simple present rags, present participle ragging, simple past and past participle ragged)

  1. To scold or rail at; to rate; to tease; to torment; to banter.
  2. (Britain slang) To drive a car or another vehicle in a hard, fast or unsympathetic manner.
  3. To tease or torment, especially at a university; to bully, to haze.
  4. (music, obsolete) To add syncopation (to a tune) and thereby make it appropriate for a ragtime song.
Derived terms
Translations
References
  • 2001. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: North America. Garland Publishing. Ellen Koskoff (Ed.). Pg. 651.

Noun

rag ‎(plural rags)

  1. (dated) A prank or practical joke.
  2. (Britain, Ireland) A society run by university students for the purpose of charitable fundraising.

Derived terms

Etymology 4

Perhaps from ragged. Compare later ragtime.

Noun

rag ‎(plural rags)

  1. (obsolete, US) An informal dance party featuring music played by African-American string bands. [19th c.]
  2. A ragtime song, dance or piece of music. [from 19th c.]
Translations

Verb

rag ‎(third-person singular simple present rags, present participle ragging, simple past and past participle ragged)

  1. (transitive, informal) To play or compose (a piece, melody, etc.) in syncopated time.
  2. (intransitive, informal) To dance to ragtime music.

Anagrams

References

Breton

Preposition

rag

  1. before

Dutch

Etymology 1

Unknown, only found to related to West Frisian reach, though possibly more distantly to Old Saxon raginna ‎(“rough hair”), Old English ragu ‎(“moss”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /rɑx/

Noun

rag n ‎(plural raggen, diminutive ragje n)

  1. spider silk
Synonyms
  • spinrag
Derived terms
  • ragfijn

Etymology 2

From English rag.

Noun

rag n ‎(plural rags, diminutive ragje n)

  1. A piece of ragtime music.

German

Verb

rag

  1. Imperative singular of ragen.
  2. (colloquial) First-person singular present of ragen.

Hungarian

Etymology

Back-formation from ragad. Created during the Hungarian language reform which took place in the 18th–19th centuries.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈrɒɡ]
  • Hyphenation: rag

Noun

rag ‎(plural ragok)

  1. (grammar) suffix, affix, case ending

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
singular plural
nominative rag ragok
accusative ragot ragokat
dative ragnak ragoknak
instrumental raggal ragokkal
causal-final ragért ragokért
translative raggá ragokká
terminative ragig ragokig
essive-formal ragként ragokként
essive-modal — —
inessive ragban ragokban
superessive ragon ragokon
adessive ragnál ragoknál
illative ragba ragokba
sublative ragra ragokra
allative raghoz ragokhoz
elative ragból ragokból
delative ragról ragokról
ablative ragtól ragoktól
Possessive forms of rag
possessor single possession multiple possessions
1st person sing. ragom ragjaim
2nd person sing. ragod ragjaid
3rd person sing. ragja ragjai
1st person plural ragunk ragjaink
2nd person plural ragotok ragjaitok
3rd person plural ragjuk ragjaik

Derived terms

See also

  • Appendix:Hungarian suffixes

Lojban

Rafsi

rag

  1. rafsi of rango.

North Frisian

Noun

rag m ‎(plural rager)

  1. (Föhr-Amrum) (anatomy) back

Scottish Gaelic

Adjective

rag

  1. stiff, rigid, inflexible
  2. stubborn, obstinate

Derived terms

Somali

Noun

rag ?

  1. man

Etymology

From Old Norse rǫgg ‎(“tuft, shagginess”). Cognate with Swedish ragg.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -æɡ

Similar Results