Rag
/ræɡ/noun
A torn or tattered piece of cloth.
Did you know?The word is firmly Germanic, and its oldest relatives point to the everyday material reality of worn-out cloth rather than any mystical origin—proof that even the humblest words can carry ancient survival history.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*ragg-
“rough hair, shaggy tuft; possibly a rough piece or shred”
Old Norse
ON
rögg
“shaggy tuft, rough pile, fringe”
Middle English
ME
ragge
“a shred of cloth; a tattered piece”
Modern English
English
rag
“a torn piece of cloth”