rag

Etymology 1

From Middle English ragge, from Old English ragg (suggested by derivative raggiġ (“shaggy; bristly; ragged”)), from Old Norse rǫgg (“tuft; shagginess”), from Proto-Germanic *rawwa-, probably related to *rūhaz. Cognate with Swedish ragg. Related to rug.

noun

1. (in the plural) Tattered clothes.
   And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm. 1684, John Dryden, Miscellany Poems: Containing a New Translation of Virgills Eclogues, Ovid's Love Elegies, Odes of Horace and Other Authors, The twenty-ninth ode of the first book of Horace
2. A piece of old cloth, especially one used for cleaning, patching, etc.; a tattered piece of cloth; a shred or tatter.
   Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers, toss'd, / And flutter'd into rags; then reliques, beads, 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book III, lines 490-491
   […]even by the law of their own might and malice, not having otherwise any rag of legality to cover the shame of their cruelty. 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain from the Birth of Jesus Christ until the year MDCXLVIII, page 399
3. A shabby, beggarly fellow; a ragamuffin.
   The other zealous rag is the compositor, / Who in an angle where the ants inhabit, / (The emblems of his labors) will sit curl'd 1623, Ben Jonson, Time Vindicated to Himself and to His Honours
   For upon the like Proclamation there, they all came in, both tag and rag 1596, Edmund Spenser, A Veue of the Present State of Irelande
4. A ragged edge in metalworking.
5. (nautical, slang) A sail, or any piece of canvas.
   Our ship was a clipper, with every rag set, stunsails, sky-scrapers, and all. 1864, James Russell Lowell, My Garden Acquaintance; A Good Word for Winter; A Moosehead Journal, page 83
   "'Oh yes, that's all very well, but we haven't done with it yet,' said the lad, 'we shall have it worse directly,' and he ordered them to furl every rag but the mizen." 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 191
6. (singular or plural, slang) Sanitary napkins, pads, or other materials used to absorb menstrual discharge.
   "It's heaviest on the first day, which might be why it hurts so much. After that, it slows down and eventually stops, but you'll need the rags for about a week." 2020, Pip Williams, The Dictionary of Lost Words, page 56
7. (slang, derogatory) A newspaper or magazine, especially one whose journalism is considered to be of poor quality.
8. (poker) A poor, low-ranking kicker.
   I have ace-four on my hand. In other words, I have ace-rag.
9. (slang, theater) A curtain of various kinds.
10. (dated) A person suffering from exhaustion or lack of energy.

verb

1. (transitive) To decorate (a wall, etc.) by applying paint with a rag.
2. (intransitive) To become tattered.

Etymology 2

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

noun

1. A coarse kind of rock, somewhat cellular in texture; ragstone.
   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. 2003, Peter Ackroyd, The Clerkenwell Tales, page 1

verb

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

Etymology 3

Uncertain.

verb

1. To scold or tell off; 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.

noun

1. (dated) A prank or practical joke.
   The rascal winked and grinned. 'There are always and means,' said he. 'But don't blame your foreman. He thought it was just a rag. I swapped clothes with his assistant, and in I came.' 1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed
2. (UK, Ireland) A society run by university students for the purpose of charitable fundraising.

Etymology 4

Perhaps from ragged. Compare later ragtime.

noun

1. (obsolete, US) An informal dance party featuring music played by African-American string bands.
2. A ragtime song, dance or piece of music.

verb

1. (transitive, informal) To play or compose (a piece, melody, etc.) in syncopated time.
2. (intransitive, informal) To dance to ragtime music.
3. (music, obsolete) To add syncopation (to a tune) and thereby make it appropriate for a ragtime song.