- Raggedness
- Ragged Rag"ged (r[a^]g"g[e^]d), a. [From {Rag}, n.]
1. Rent or worn into tatters, or till the texture is broken;
as, a ragged coat; a ragged sail.
[1913 Webster]
2. Broken with rough edges; having jags; uneven; rough; jagged; as, ragged rocks. [1913 Webster]
3. Hence, harsh and disagreeable to the ear; dissonant. [R.] ``A ragged noise of mirth.'' --Herbert. [1913 Webster]
4. Wearing tattered clothes; as, a ragged fellow. [1913 Webster]
5. Rough; shaggy; rugged. [1913 Webster]
What shepherd owns those ragged sheep? --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
{Ragged lady} (Bot.), the fennel flower ({Nigella Damascena}).
{Ragged robin} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Lychnis} ({Lychnis 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.] [1913 Webster] -- {Rag"ged*ly}, adv. -- {Rag"ged*ness}, n. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
