rag

Meaning

Noun

1. (especially, in-plural) Tattered clothes (clothing).
2. A piece of old cloth, especially one used for cleaning, patching, etc.; a tattered piece of cloth; a shred or tatter.
3. (derogatory) A shabby, beggarly person; synonym of ragamuffin.
4. A ragged edge in metalworking.
5. (slang) A sail, or any piece of canvas.
6. (plural, singular, slang) Sanitary napkins, pads, or other materials used to absorb menstrual discharge.
7. (derogatory, slang) A newspaper or magazine, especially one whose journalism is considered to be of poor quality.
8. A poor, low-ranking kicker.
9. (slang) A curtain of various kinds.
10. (dated) A person suffering from exhaustion or lack of energy.
11. (obsolete, slang) A banknote.
12. An uneven vertical margin (of a block of type).

Verb

1. (transitive) To decorate (a wall, etc.) by applying paint with a rag.
2. (intransitive) To become tattered.
3. (euphemistic, intransitive, slang, sometimes, vulgar) To menstruate.

Verb

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

Verb

1. To scold or tell off; to torment; to banter.
2. (British, 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.

Verb

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

Synonyms

shred

tatter

cloth

scrap

patch

piece of cloth

tease

handkerchief

rags

tatters

nark

torment

gravel

chafe

irritate

get at

scold

duster

rile

reproof

reprimand

clout

razz

bother

nettle

vex

chide

chew up

tag end

tissue

tabloid

tattered cloth

sheet

get to

devil

call down

annoy

rag week

burr

crucify

ride

rib

cod

rebuke

frustrate

ragtime

rally

remonstrate

row

flash

Translations

chiffon

haillon

trapo

straccio

Lumpen

Lappen

andrajo

harapo

trapo

cencio

Fetzen

vod

lambeau

κουρέλι

lap

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹæɡ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: ragge

Inherited from Old English: ragg

Cognate with Swedish: ragg

In summary

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.