rag

v. t. [ Cf. Icel. rægja to calumniate, OHG. ruogen to accuse, G. rügen to censure, AS. wrēgan, Goth. wrōhjan to accuse. ] To scold or rail at; to rate; to tease; to torment; to banter. [ Prov. Eng. ] Pegge. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. ragge, probably of Scand, origin; cf. Icel. rögg a tuft, shagginess, Sw. ragg rough hair. Cf. Rug, n. ] 1. A piece of cloth torn off; a tattered piece of cloth; a shred; a tatter; a fragment. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers, tossed,
And fluttered into rags. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Not having otherwise any rag of legality to cover the shame of their cruelty. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. pl. Hence, mean or tattered attire; worn-out dress. [ 1913 Webster ]

And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A shabby, beggarly fellow; a ragamuffin. [ 1913 Webster ]

The other zealous rag is the compositor. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

Upon the proclamation, they all came in, both tag and rag. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Geol.) A coarse kind of rock, somewhat cellular in texture. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Metal Working) A ragged edge. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A sail, or any piece of canvas. [ Nautical Slang ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Our ship was a clipper with every rag set. Lowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rag bolt, an iron pin with barbs on its shank to retain it in place. --
Rag carpet, a carpet of which the weft consists of narrow strips of cloth sewed together, end to end. --
Rag dust, fine particles of ground-up rags, used in making papier-maché and wall papers. --
Rag wheel. (a) A chain wheel; a sprocket wheel. (b) A polishing wheel made of disks of cloth clamped together on a mandrel. --
Rag wool, wool obtained by tearing woolen rags into fine bits, shoddy. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To break (ore) into lumps for sorting. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cut or dress roughly, as a grindstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. (Music) To play or compose (a piece, melody, etc.) in syncopated time. [ Colloq. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. To dance to ragtime music, esp. in some manner considered indecorous. [ Colloq. or Slang ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

{ } n. An idle, ragged person. Nares. Grose. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Ragamofin, the name of a demon in some of the old mysteries. ] 1. A paltry or disreputable fellow; a mean wretch. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A person who wears ragged clothing. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) The long-tailed titmouse. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. L. rabies, fr. rabere to rave; cf. Skr. rabh to seize, rabhas violence. Cf. Rabid, Rabies, Rave. ] 1. Violent excitement; eager passion; extreme vehemence of desire, emotion, or suffering, mastering the will. “In great rage of pain.” Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

He appeased the rage of hunger with some scraps of broken meat. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Convulsed with a rage of grief. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Especially, anger accompanied with raving; overmastering wrath; violent anger; fury. [ 1913 Webster ]

torment, and loud lament, and furious rage. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A violent or raging wind. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The subject of eager desire; that which is sought after, or prosecuted, with unreasonable or excessive passion; as, to be all the rage. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Anger; vehemence; excitement; passion; fury. See Anger. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Raged p. pr. & vb. n. Raging ] [ OF. ragier. See Rage, n. ] 1. To be furious with anger; to be exasperated to fury; to be violently agitated with passion. “Whereat he inly raged.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

When one so great begins to rage, he is hunted
Even to falling. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rage, rage against the dying of the light
Do not go gentle into that good night. Dylan Thomas. [ PJC ]

2. To be violent and tumultuous; to be violently driven or agitated; to act or move furiously; as, the raging sea or winds. [ 1913 Webster ]

Why do the heathen rage? Ps. ii. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

The madding wheels
Of brazen chariots raged; dire was the noise. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To ravage; to prevail without restraint, or with destruction or fatal effect; as, the plague raged in Cairo. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To toy or act wantonly; to sport. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To storm; fret; chafe; fume. [ 1913 Webster ]