rag

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a small piece of cloth or paper
  2. noun a week at British universities during which side-shows and processions of floats are organized to raise money for charities
  3. noun music with a syncopated melody (usually for the piano)

Etymology

From Middle English ragge, from Old English ragg (suggested by derivative raggiġ (“shaggy; bristly; ragged”)), from Old Norse rǫgg (“tuft; shagginess”), from Proto-Germanic *rawwa-, probably related to *rūhaz. Cognate with Swedish ragg. Related to rug.

In classic literature

Synonyms

shred, tag, tag end, tatter

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