Rag"ged (?), a. [From Rag, n.]

1.

Rent or worn into tatters, or till the texture is broken; as, a ragged coat; a ragged sail.

2.

Broken with rough edges; having jags; uneven; rough; jagged; as, ragged rocks.

3.

Hence, harsh and disagreeable to the ear; dissonant.

[R.] "A ragged noise of mirth."

Herbert.

4.

Wearing tattered clothes; as, a ragged fellow.

5.

Rough; shaggy; rugged.

What shepherd owns those ragged sheep ? Dryden.

Ragged lady Bot., the fennel flower (Nigella Damascena). -- Ragged robin Bot., a plant of the genus Lychnis (L. Flos-cuculi), cultivated for its handsome flowers, which have the petals cut into narrow lobes. -- Ragged sailor Bot., prince's feather (Polygonum orientale). -- Ragged school, a free school for poor children, where they are taught and in part fed; -- a name given at first because they came in their common clothing. [Eng.]

-- Rag"ged*ly, adv. -- Rag"ged*ness, n.

 

© Webster 1913.

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