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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Rag wool

Rag \Rag\, n. [OE. ragge, probably of Scand, origin; cf. Icel. r["o]gg 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.

    Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers, tossed, And fluttered into rags.
    --Milton.

    Not having otherwise any rag of legality to cover the shame of their cruelty.
    --Fuller.

  2. pl. Hence, mean or tattered attire; worn-out dress.

    And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm.
    --Dryden.

  3. A shabby, beggarly fellow; a ragamuffin.

    The other zealous rag is the compositor.
    --B. Jonson.

    Upon the proclamation, they all came in, both tag and rag.
    --Spenser.

  4. (Geol.) A coarse kind of rock, somewhat cellular in texture.

  5. (Metal Working) A ragged edge.

  6. A sail, or any piece of canvas. [Nautical Slang] Our ship was a clipper with every rag set. --Lowell. 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-mach['e] and wall papers. Rag wheel.

    1. A chain wheel; a sprocket wheel.

    2. 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.