rag 
Leather thus leisurely tanned and turned many times 
in the fat will prove serviceable, which otherwise will 
quickly fleet and ray out. 
Fuller, Worthies, .Middlesex, II. 312. 
2. To dress; deck one's self: in the phrase to 
rag out, to dress in one's best. [Slang, U. S.] 
A finely dressed woman rags out. 
S. Bowles, Our New West, p. 506. 
II. trans. 1. To make ragged ; abrade ; give 
a ragged appearance to, as in the rough-dress- 
ing of the face of a grindstone. 
In straggling or ragging [a grindstone] the stone is kept 
running as usual. 6. Byrne, Artisan's Handbook, p. 422. 
2. In mining, to separate by ragging or with 
the aid of the ragging-hammer. See ragging, 2. 
rag 2 (rag), . t. ; pret. and pp. ragged, ppr. rag- 
ging. [Prob. < rag 1 , n., 5. In another view, < 
Icel. rtegja, calumniate, = AS. wregan, accuse: 
see wray.] To banter; badger; rail at; irri- 
tate; torment. Compare buuyrag. [Local.] 
To rag a man is good Lincolnshire for chaff or tease. At 
school, to get a boy into a rage was called getting his rag 
out. K. and Q.,7thser., VI. 38. 
rag 3 (rag), . [< Icel. liregg, storm and rain.] 
A drizzling rain. [Prov. Eng.] 
rag 4 (rag), . An abbreviation of raginee. 
ragabash (rag 'a -bash), n. [Also raggabasli, 
ragabrasli, Sc. rag-a-buss, ragabush; appar. a 
made word, vaguely associated with rag 1 or 
ragamuffin.] I. A shiftless, disreputable fel- 
low; a ragamuffin. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
The most unalphabetical raggabmhes that ever bred 
louse. Discov. of a New World, p. 81. (Naret.) 
2. Collectively, idle, worthless people. Halli- 
well. [Prov. Eng.] 
ragamuffin (rag'a-muf-in), n. and a. [Early 
mod. E. also raggemuffin, ragamofin, ragomofin; 
erroneously analyzed rag-a-muffin, rag of Muf- 
fins; < ME. Hagamoffyn, the name of a demon, 
prob., like many other names of demons, mere- 
ly fanciful. The present sense has been partly 
determined by association with rag 1 . For the 
sense 'demon,' of. ragman?.] I. n. If. [cap.] 
The name of a demon. 
Ac rys vp, Ragamoffyn, and reche me alle the barren 
The Belial thy bel-syre beot with thy damme. 
Piers Plowman (C), xxi. 283. 
2. An idle, worthless fellow; a vagabond; now, 
especially, a disreputably ragged or slovenly 
person : formerly used as a general term of rep- 
rehension. 
I have led my ragamuffin* where they are peppered. 
Shot., 1 Hen. IV., v. 3. so. 
Did that same tiranicall-tongu'd rag-a-mu/in 
Horace turne liald pates out so naked? 
Dekker, Humorous Poet. 
Once, attended with a crew of rayt/amuffins, she broke 
into his house, turned all things topsy-turvy, and then 
set it on flre. Swifl, story of an Injured Lady. 
3. A titmouse: same as mufflin. 
II. a. Base; beggarly; ragged or disorderly. 
Here be the emperor's captains, you ragamuffin rascal, 
and not your comrades. B. Joneon, Poetaster, 1. 1. 
Mr. Aldworth . . . turned over the rest of this raga 
muffin assembly to the care of his butler. 
Graves, Spiritual Quixote, viii. 23. (Dane*.) 
ragamuffinly (rag'a-muf-iu-li), a. [< ragamuf- 
fin + -ly 1 .] Like" a ragamuffin; marked by 
raggedness or slovenliness. [Rare.] 
His attire was . . . shabby, not to say ragamujfulu in 
the extreme, ... as to inherent disreputableness of ap- 
pearance. J. FothtryOl, March in the Ranks, x. 
rag-bolt (rag'bolt), H. An iron pin with a barb- 
ed shank, chiefly used where a com- 
mon bolt canuo't be clinched. Also 
called barb-bolt and sprig-bolt. 
rag-bush (rag'bush), . In some hea- 
then countries, a bush in some special 
locality, as near a sacred well, on 
which pieces of cloth are hung to pro- 
pitiate the spirits supposed to dwell RaB ' bo 
there. The rags are generally pieces torn from 
the garments of pilgrims or wayfarers. 
There is usually a rag-bush by the well, on which bits of 
linen or worsted are tied as a gift to the spirits of the 
waters. C. Elton, Origins of Eng. Hist, p. 285. 
rag-dust (rag'dust), . The refuse of woolen 
or worsted rags pulverized and dyed in various 
colors to form the flock used by paper-stainers 
for their flock-papers. 
rage (raj), n. [< ME. rage, < OF. rage, raige, 
F. rage, F. dial, raige = Pr. rabia, ratfe = Sp. 
rabia = Pg. raira, rabia = It. rabbia, dial, rag- 
gia, madness, rage, fury, < ML. (and prob. LL.) 
rabia, a later form of L. rabies, madness, rage, 
fury, < rabere, be mad, rave, = Skt. / rabh, 
seize. Cf. rage, v., enrage, rave 1 , rabies, rabid. 
4938 
etc.] If. Madness; insanity; an access of ma- 
niacal violence. 
Now, out of doubt Antipholus is mad. . . . 
The reason that I gather he is mud, 
Besides this present instance of his rage, 
Is a mad tale he told to-day. 
Shak.,C. of E., iv. 3.88. 
2. Violent anger manifested in language or ac- 
tion ; indignation or resentment excited to fury 
and expressed in furious words and gestures, 
with agitation. 
Words well dispost 
Have secrete powre t' appease inflamed rage. 
Spenser, V. Q., II. viii. 26. 
So he [Naaman] turned and went away in a rage. 
2 KL v. 12. 
Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, 
Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned. 
Congrevt, Mounting Bride, ili. 8. 
3. Extreme violence of operation or effect; in- 
tensity of degree, force, or urgency : used of 
things or conditions: as, the rage of a storm 
or of the sea; the rage of fever or of thirst. 
And in wynter, and especially in lente, it ys mervelows 
flowyng with rage of watir that comyth with grett violence 
thorow the vale of Josophat. 
TorHngtan, Diarie of Eng. Travel!, p. 27. 
Fear no more the heat o' the sun, 
Nor the furious winter's rages. 
Shale., Cymbeliue, iv. 2 (song). 
Ere yet from rest or food we seek relief, 
Some rites remain, to glut our rage of grief. 
Pope, Iliad, xxii. 14. 
4. Vehement emotion; generous ardor or en- 
thusiasm; passionate utterance or eloquence. 
Thurgh which her grete sorwe gan aswage ; 
She may not alwey duren in swich rage. 
Chaucer, Franklin's Tale, 1. 108. 
And your true rights be term'd a poet's rage, 
And stretched metre of an antique song. 
Shot., Sonnets, xvii. 
The soldiers shout around with generous rage, 
And in that victory their own presage. 
Dryden, Pal. and Arc., i. 117. 
Chill penury repressed their noble rage, 
And froze the genial current of the soul. 
Gray, Elegy. 
5. Vehement desire or pursuit; ardent eager- 
ness, as for the attainment or accomplishment 
of something; engrossing tendency or propen- 
sity: as, the rage for speculation, for social 
distinction, etc. 
So o'er this sleeping soul doth Tarqiiln stay, 
His rage of lust by gazing qualified. 
Shale., Lucrece, 1. 424. 
What rage for fame attends both great and small ! 
Better be d d than mentioned not at all. 
Woleot (P. Pindar), To the Royal Academicians. 
In our day the rage for accumulation has apotheosized 
work. H. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 178. 
Croquet, which is now so far lost in the mists of an- 
tiquity that men of thirty are too young to remember the 
rage for it, was actually not yet [1837] invented. 
IT. Reliant, Fifty Years Ago, p. 88. 
6. An object of general and eager desire or 
pursuit ; fashion ; vogue ; fad : as, music is now 
all the rage . [Colloq.] 7f. A violent wind. 
Tin t. nit cam a rage and such a vese 
That it made al the gates for to rese. 
Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 1127. 
= 8yn. 2. Vexation, Indignation, etc. (neeangeri); frenzy, 
madness, raving. 
rage (raj), p.; pret. and pp. raged, ppr. raging. 
[< ME. ragen, < OF. ragier.rager, be furious, 
rage, romp, play, F. rager, Picard dial, rattier, 
be furious,rage, = Pr.rafiar,ratjar = Sp.rnWar 
= Pg. rairar = Olt. rabbiare, be furious, < ML. 
ralriarc, be furious, rage, < rabia. L. rabies, mad- 
ness, fury, rage: see rage, n. Cf. enrage, rave 1 , 
rabiate.'] I. intrans. 1. To be furious with an- 
ger; be excited to fury; be violently agitated 
with passion of any kind. 
He inly raged, and, as they talk'd, 
Smote him into the midriff with a stone. 
Milton, P. L., xi. 444. 
2. To speak with passionate utterance, or act 
with furious vehemence ; storm ; rave. 
The fool rageth, and is confident. Prov. xiv. 16. 
Poets, when they rage, 
Turn gods to men. and make an hour an age. 
Beau, and Fl., Maid's Tragedy, L 2. 
As bee was thus madde and raging against the true Re- 
ligion. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 84. 
I expect Mr. Tickler this evening, and he will rage if he 
miss MB free-and-easy. Nodes Ambrosiana, Feb., 1832. 
3. To act violently; move impetuously; be vio- 
lently driven or agitated; have furious course 
or effect : said of things : as, a raging fever; the 
storm rages ; war is raging. 
The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle 
one against another in the broad ways. Nahnm ii. 4. 
Like the hectic in my blood he rages. 
Shale., Hamlet, iv. 3. 68. 
ragged 
If the Sickness rage in such Extremity at London, the 
Term will be held at Reading, lloteett. Letters, I. iv. Si. 
The storm of cheers and counter-cheers rages around 
him (Mr. Gladstone], as it can rage nowhere except in the 
House of Commons. T. W. Reid, Cabinet Portraits, p. 24. 
4t. To frolic wantonly ; play; frisk; romp. 
When sche seyth galantys revell yn hall, 
Yn here hert she thynkys owtnige, 
Desyrynge with them to pley anil rage, 
And stelyth fro yow full prevely. 
Kelig. Antig., i. 29. (Hnlliutll.) 
On a day this hende Nicholas 
FU with this yonge wyf to rage and pleye. 
Chaucer, Miller's Tale, 1. 87. 
She bygan to plaie and rage, 
As who safth, I am well enough. 
Oouxr, Conf. Amant., i. 
5. To be very eager or anxious. [Rare.] 
II. trans. To enrage; chafe: fret. 
Deal mildly with his youth; 
For young hot colts being raged do rage the more. 
S/iak., Rich. II., II. 1. 70. 
ragee, n. See raggce. 
rageful (raj'ful), a. [< rage. + -ful.] Full of 
rage; furious. 
With rageful eyes she bad him defend himself. 
Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, ii. 
Nor thou be rageful, like a handled bee. 
Tennyton, Ancient Sage. 
ragemant, n. See ragman^. 
rag-engine (rag'en'jin), n. In miper-manuf., a 
tank fitted with rotating cylindrical cutters or 
other devices for the rapid disintegration of 
rags to form paper-pulp. 
rageoust (ra'jus), a. [Also ragions; < rage + 
-ous, perhaps by association with the unrelated 
outrageous.] Full of rage ; furious. 
Our Sauypur whiche redeemed vs with so great a price 
may not thincke that it longeth to hym to se vs peryshe, 
neyther to suffer the shippe of his churche to bee so 
shaken with many great and ragioug nodes. 
Bp. Fisher, Seven Penitential Psalms. 
rageousnesst (ra'jus-nes), . The quality of 
being rageous ; fury. Also ragiousness. 
What a ragimumes Is it, to set thy chastity common like 
an harlot, that thou maiest gather riches ! 
Vices, Instruction of a Christian Woman, ili. 7. 
rageryt (ra'jer-i), w. [< ME. ragerie,< OF. 
ragerif, rage, anger, < rager, rage: see rage, r.] 
1. Rage; an ebullition of fury. 
Plucked off ... In a ragery. 
W. Browne, Shepherd's Pipe, I. 
2. Wantonness; frolic. 
He was al coltissh, ful of ragerye. 
Chaucer, Merchant's Tale, 1. 603. 
rag-fair (rag'far), . A market for vending old 
clothes and cast-off garments. 
raggt, . See ragi. 
raggabash, . See ragabosli. 
ragged (rag'ed), a. [< ME. ragged, raggyd, 
shaggy, tattered, torn; < Icel. raggathr (= 
Norvf.raggad), shaggy, < Icel. rtigg, shagginess, 
= Norw. ragg, rough, uneven hair: see JY'j/ 1 .] 
1. Having a rough shaggy coat, as a horse or 
sheep; shaggy. 
A ragged colt. King Alisaunder, I. 684. 
What shepherd owns those ragged sheep? 
Dryden, tr. of Virgil's Eclogues, 111. 1. 
2. Rough, uneven, or rocky, as a sea-bottom. 
3. Roughly broken, divided, or disordered; 
having disjointed parts, or a confusedly irregu- 
lar surface or outline ; jagged ; craggy ; rug- 
gedly uneven or distorted : often used figura- 
tively. 
My rolce is ragged; I know I cannot please you. 
Shale., As you Like it, ii. 5. 16. 
I am so bold as to call so piercing and so glorious an 
Eye as your Grace to view those poore raqged lines. 
Capt. John Smith, Works, I. 57. 
Then, foraging this Isle, long-prorais'd them before, 
Amongst the ragged cleeves those monstrous Giants 
sought. Drayton, Polyolbion, i. 471. 
We went somewhat out of y way to see the towne of 
Bourbon I'Archambaut, from whose antient and ragged 
castle is deriv'd the name of the present Royal Family of 
France. Evelyn, Diary, Sept. 24, 1644. 
Ragged clouds still streamed the pale sky o'er. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, III. 162. 
4. Rent or worn into rags or tatters ; tattered ; 
frayed : as, a ragged coat ; ragged sails. 
He [the sheik] came out to us in a ragged habit of green 
silk, lined with fur. 
Pococke, Description of the East, II. i. 166. 
5. Wearing torn or frayed clothes ; dressed in 
rags or tatters. 
Since noble arts in Rome have no support, 
And ragged virtue not a friend at court. 
Dryden, tr. of Juvenal's Satires, 111. 
He . . . perhaps thinks that after all gipsies do not 
look so very different from other ragged people. 
E. A. Freeman, Venice, p. 58. 
