6. Shabby 
ragged 
ill-furnished. 
In a small, low, ragged room . . . Margaret saw an old 
woman with a dish of coals and two tallow candles burn- 
ing before her on a table. S. Judd, Margaret, i. 15. 
7. In her., same as niguly, especially of any- 
thing which is raguly on both sides. See ragged 
Staff, below. Ragged staff, in her., a pale couped at 
each end and ragnly on each side : more commonly repre- 
sented as an actual knotted stick, or stout staff with short 
stumps of branches on each side. 
The Earl of Warwick's ragged Rtaff is yet to he seen 
pourtrayed in their church steeple. 
R. Carew, Survey of Cornwall. 
ragged-lady (rag'ed-la"di), n. A garden flower, 
Aigella Dunidscena. 
raggedly (rag'ed-li), adr. In a ragged condi- 
tion or manner ; roughly; brokenly. 
Raggedly and meanly apparelled. 
Bp, Hacket, Abp. Williams (1693), p. 219. (Latham.) 
Sometimes I heard the foxes as they ranged over the 
snow crust in moonlight nights, . . . barking raggedly 
and demoniacally like forest dogs. 
Thoreau, Walden, p. 293. 
raggedness (rag'ed-nes), n. The state or char- 
acter of being ragged, in any sense. 
Poor naked wretches, . . . How shall 
Your loop'd and window'd raggedness defend you 
From seasons such as these? Shak., Lear, iii. 4. 31. 
ragged-robin (rag'ed-rob"in), n. The cuckoo- 
flower, Lychnis 
Flos-cu.ev.li. 
ragged-sailor 
(rag'ed-sa'lor), 
n. A plant of 
the genus Poly- 
gonum: same as 
j trin ce's-fea ther, 2. 
ragged-school 
(rag'ed-skol), . 
See school*. 
ragged-staff 
(rag'ed-staf), n. 
A kind of poly- 
zoan, Alcyonidi- 
iini glutinosum. 
Also called mer- 
maids-glove. 
raggee (rag'e), 
n. [Also raggy, 
ragee; < Hind. 
Canarese rdgi.] 
A grass, Eleusine 
coracana, a pro- 
lific grain-plant 
Pllltivnrpd in Ta Ragged-robin (Lychnis Flos-cuculi). 
CUltnatea in Ja- 1<llppa part of stem with inflorescence; 
pan and parts Ot 2. lower part of stem with rhizome ; a, a 
India. 
raggery (rag'er-i), n. [< rag* + -ery.~\ Kags 
collectively; raggedness. [Bare.] 
Grim, portentous old hags, such as Michael Angelo 
painted, draped in majestic raggery. 
Thackeray, Newcomes, xxxv. 
ragging (rag'ing), n. [Verbal n. of rag\ r.] 
1. A method of fishing for the striped-bass, 
etc., in which a red rag is used as a fly. [U. S.] 
2. In mining, the first and roughest separa- 
tion of the ore (mixed with more or less vein- 
stone), by which the entirely worthless portion 
is selected and rejected. Nearly the same as spall- 
ing; but sometimes the latter term is used to designate 
a second and more thorough ragging, while cobbing may 
mean a still more thorough separation ; but all are done 
with the hammer, without special machinery. 
ragging-frame (rag'ing-fram), n. Same as rack- 
ing-table. 
raggle (rag'l), v. t. ; pret. and pp. raggted, ppr. 
raggling. [Freq. of rag 1 .'] To notch or groove 
irregularly. 
raggle (rag'l), . [< raggle., r.] A ragged piece ; 
a torn strip. 
Striding swiftly over the heavy snow, he examines each 
trap in turn, to find perhaps in one a toe, in another a nail, 
and in a third a splendid ermine torn to raggles by "that 
infernal carcajou." Cosmopolitan, Feb., 1888. 
raggyt (rag'i), a. [< ME. *raggy, < AS. rag- 
gig (pi. raggie), rough, shaggy, < Sw. raggig, 
shaggy, Sw. dial, raggi, rough-haired, sloven- 
ly, < ragg, rough hair, = Icel. rogg, shagginess: 
see rag 1 .'] Rough; rugged; rocky. 
A stony and raggy hill. Holland. 
raghtt. Same as raughft for rfarln-d. 
ragi (rag'e), n. See ragee. 
raginee (rag'i-ne). . [Hind, ragini, a mode 
in music (= Skt. ragini, possessing color or pas- 
sion), cf. rag, a mode in music, < Skt. raga, color- 
ing, color, feeling, passion; < Vroj, be colored.] 
One of a class of Hindu melodies founded on 
fixed scales. Often contracted to rag. 
4939 
ragingly ( ra' jing-li), adv. In a raging manner : 
with fury ; with violent impetuosity. 
ragioust, ragiousnesst. See rageous, rageous- 
nesx. 
rag-knife (rag'nif), H. In a rag-engine, one of 
the knives in the cylindrical cutter, working 
against those in the bed or bottom-plate. 
raglan (rag'lan), >i. [So called after Lord Rag- 
lan, commander-in-chief of the British forces 
in the Crimea.] A kind of loose overcoat, hav- 
ing very full sleeves, or a sort of cape covering 
the arms, worn about 1855 and later. 
As it was quite dark in the tent, I picked up what was 
supposed to be my raglan, a water-proof light overcoat, 
without sleeves. The Century, XXXIX. 5C6. 
rag-lopper (rag'lo"per), n. An apparatus for 
knotting together strips and pieces of fabrics 
in making a rag carpet. 
ragman 1 (rag'man), n. ; pi. ragmen (-men). 
[< ME. ragmann; <rag l + man.'] If. A ragged 
person. 
Ragmann, or he that goythe wythe iaggyd [var. raggyd} 
clothys, pannicius vel pannicia. Prompt. Pare., p. 421. 
2. A man who collects or deals in rags, 
ragmau'-'t, n. [ME. "ragman, rageman, ragge- 
man, prob. < Icel. ragmenni, a craven (cf . regi- 
madhr, a craven), < ragr, craven, cowardly (ap- 
par. a transposed form of argr, craven, coward- 
ly, = AS. earg, cowardly: see arch?), + madhr 
(*inanr), mail, = E. man. Cf. ragman-roll.] 1. 
A craven. [Not found in this sense, except as 
in ragman-roll and the particular application 
in definition 2 following.] 2. The devil. 
Filius by the faders wil flegh with Spiritus Sanctus, 
To ransake that rageman and reue hym hus apples, 
That fyrst man deceyuede thorgh frut and false by-heste. 
Piers Plowman (0), xix. 122. 
ragman s t (rag'man), n. [ME. ragman, ragman, 
rageman, ragemon, ragment, a deed sealed, a 
papal bull, a list, a tedious story, a game so 
called: an abbr. of ragman-roll, q. v.] 1. Same 
as ragman-roll, 1. 
He blessed hem with his breuet, and blered hure eyen, 
And raghte with hus ragman rynges and broches. 
Piers Plowman (CX i. 72. 
Rede on this ragmen, and rewle yow theraftur. 
MS. Cantab. If. v. 48, f. 7. (Hallimll.) 
The records in connexion with the financial operations 
of Richard II. and Richard III. make it clear that a rag- 
man or rageman I believe the word is spelled both ways 
meant simply a bond or personal obligation. 
The Academy, Jan. 18, 1890, p. 47. 
2. Same as ragman-roll, 2. 
Mr. Wright . . . has printed two collections of ancient 
verses used in the game of ragman. Halliwett. 
ragman-rollt (rag'man-rol), n. [ME. "ragman- 
rolle, ra 
ragman's roll, 
by abbr. ragman^, by corruption rig-my-roll, rig- 
marole: see rigmarole."] 1. A parchment roll 
with pendent seals, as an official catalogue or 
register, a deed, or a papal bull; hence, any 
important document, catalogue, or list. The 
name was applied specifically, and perhaps originally 
(in the supposed invidious sense 'the Cravens' Roll 1 ), to 
the collection of those instruments by which the nobility 
and gentry of Scotland were tyrannically constrained to 
subscribe allegiance to Edward I. of England in 1296, and 
which were more particularly recorded in four large rolls 
of parchment, consisting of thirty-five pieces bound to- 
gether, and kept in the Tower of London. (Jamieson.) 
What one man emong many thousandes . . . hath so 
moche vacaunte tyme, that he maie bee at leasure to 
tourne ouer and ouer in the bookes of Plato the rag- 
mannes rolles . . . whiche Socrates doeth there vse? 
Erasmus, Pref. to Apophthegms, tr. by Udall. 
The list of names in Fame's book is called ragman roll 
in Skelton, i. 420. Halliwdl. 
2. A game played with a roll of parchment 
containing verses descriptive of character, to 
each of which was attached a string with a 
pendant. The parchment being rolled up, each player 
selected one of the projecting strings, and the verse to 
which it led was taken as his description. 
3. A written fabrication; a vague or rambling 
story ; a rigmarole. 
Mayster parson, I marvayll ye wyll gyve lycenc 
To this false knave in this audience 
To publish his ragman rdO.es with lyes. 
The Pardoner and the Frere (1533). (Halliwell.) 
ragman's rewet. Same as ragman-roll, 2. 
These songes or rimes (because their orlginall beginnyng 
issued out of Fescenium) wer called in Latine Fescennina 
Carmina or Fescennini rythmi or versus ; whiche I doe 
here translate (according to our English prouerbe) a rag- 
man's rewe or a bible. For so dooe we call a long jeste 
that railleth on any persone by name, or toucheth a bodie's 
honestee somewhat nere. 
UdaU's Erasmus's Apophth., p. 274. 
ragman's roll* (rag'manz rol), n. See ragman- 
roll. 
raguly 
'i), . 
See rag money, 
le, ragmane-roelle ; < ragman 2 + roll, . Also 
iman's roll, ragman's rewe (i. e. row). Hence 
rag-money (rag'mun 1 
under nii/l. 
Kagnarok (rag'njl-ivk'), . [< Icel. ragnu riikr, 
'twilight of the gods' (G. gotlerddnniiening): 
rai/iia, gen. of riign, regin, neut. pi., the gods 
(= Goth, ragiii, counsel, will, determination, 
> ragineis, counselor) ; rokr, twilight, dimness, 
vapor (see reck^); but orig. ragnti rijk, the his- 
tory of the gods and the world, esp. with ref. to 
the last judgment, doomsday: rok, reason, judg- 
ment.] In Scaml. myth., the general destruc 
tion of the gods in a great battle with the evil 
powers, in which the latter and the earth also 
perish, followed by regeneration of all things 
through the power of the supreme God, and the 
reappearance of those gods who represent the 
regenerative forces of nature. 
ragoa (ra-go'a), . Same as goa, 1. 
ragondin, w. The pelt or fur of the La Plata 
beaver or coypou, Myopotamus coypus; nutria. 
ragoot, n. An obsolete English spelling of 
ragout. 
ragout (ra-gi)'), . [Formerly spelled ragoo or 
ragou, in imitation of the F. pron., also ragousl, 
< OF. ragoust, F. ragout, a stew, a seasoned 
dish, < ragouster, ragouter, bring back to one's 
appetite; < re- (< L. re-), again, + a- (< L. ad), 
to,+ gouster, F. goiiter, < L. gustare, taste: see 
gust 2 .] 1. A dish of meat (usually mutton or 
veal) and vegetables cut small, stewed brown, 
and highly seasoned. 
Spongy Morells in strong Jiagousts are found, 
And in the Soupe the slimy Snail is drown'd. 
Gay, Trivia. 
And thus they bid farewell to carnal dishes, 
And solid meats, and highly-spiced ragouts, 
To live for forty days on ill-dress'd fishes. 
Byron, Beppo, st. 7. 
When he found her prefer a plain dish to a ragout, had 
nothing to say to her. 
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, p. 29. 
2. Figuratively, a spicy mixture ; any piquant 
combination of persons or things. 
I assure you she has an odd Ragovtol Guardians, as you 
will find when you hear the Characters. 
Mrs. Centilitre, Bold Stroke, ii. 
rag-picker (rag'pifer), . 1. One who goes 
about to collect rags, bones, and other waste ar- 
ticles of some little value, from streets, ash- 
pits, dunghills, etc. 2. A machine for tearing 
and pulling to shreds rags, yarns, hosiery, old 
carpet, and other waste, to reduce them to cot- 
ton or wool staple; a shoddy-machine Bag- 
pickers' disease malignant anthrax. 
ragshag (rag'shag), n. [A riming variation of 
rag, as if < rag 1 + shag.] A very ragged per- 
son ; especially, one who purposely dresses in 
grotesque rags for exhibition. [Colloq.J 
While the Kagshags were inarching, . . . [he] caught his 
foot in his ragged garment and fell. 
Conn. Courant, July 7, 1887. 
rag-shop (rag'shop), n. A shop in which rags 
and other refuse collected by rag-pickers are 
bought, sorted, and prepared for use. 
rag-sorter (rag'sor'ter), n . A person employed 
in sorting rags for paper-making or other use. 
The subjects were grouped as follows : six ragsorters, 
four female cooks, etc. Medical Sews, LIII. 600. 
ragstone (rag'ston), . [< rag 1 + stone.] 1. 
In Eng. geol., a rock forming a part of a series 
of rough, shelly, sandy limestones, with layers 
of marl and sandstone, occurring in the Low- 
er or Bath Oolite. The shale series is some- 
times called the Ragstone or Bagstone series. 
2. In masonry, stone quarried in thin blocks 
or slabs. 
rag-tag (rag' tag), . [Also tag-rag, short for tag 
and rag : see rag 1 , tag, n., tag-rag.] Ragged 
people collectively ; the scum of the populace ; 
the rabble : sometimes used attributively. [Col- 
loq.] Rag-tag and bobtail, all kinds of shabby or 
shiftless people ; persons of every degree of worthless- 
ness ; a disorderly rabble. [Colloq.] 
Rag-tag and bobtail, disguised and got up with make- 
shift arms, hovering in the distance, have before now de- 
cided battles. Gladstone, Gleanings of Past Years, I. 169. 
rag-turnsol (rag'tern"sol), n. Linen impreg- 
nated with the blue dye obtained from the juice 
of the plant Chrozophora tinctoria, used as a test 
for acids. See turnsol, 2. 
ragulated (rag'u-la-ted), a. In her., same as 
raguly. 
ragule (rag-u-la'), a. Same as raguly. 
raguled (rag'uld), a. 
as raguly. 
raguly ( rag'u-li), a. 
E. ragl + -id- + -e.] 
[< ragul-y + -erf2.] Same 
[< Heraldic F. ragule; < 
In her., broken into regu- 
lar projections and depressions like battle- 
