Home > Synonyms > Synonyms for rags

Synonyms for rags

Grammar : Noun
Spell : rag
Phonetic Transcription : ræg

Définition of rags

Origin :
  • scrap of cloth, early 14c., probably from Old Norse rögg "shaggy tuft," earlier raggw-, or possibly from Old Danish rag (see rug), or a back-formation from ragged, It also may represent an unrecorded Old English cognate of Old Norse rögg. Watkins traces the Old Norse word through Proto-Germanic *rawwa-, from PIE root *reue- "to smash, knock down, tear up, uproot" (see rough (adj.)).
  • As an insulting term for "newspaper, magazine" it dates from 1734; slang for "tampon, sanitary napkin" is attested from 1930s (on the rag "menstruating" is from 1948). Rags "personal clothing" is from 1855 (singular), American English. Rags-to-riches "rise from poverty to wealth" is attested by 1896. Rag-picker is from 1860; rag-shop from 1829.
  • noun clothes
Example sentences :
  • The sky was now clear, the air frosty, and my rags were but a scant protection to me.
  • Extract from : « Biography of a Slave » by Charles Thompson
  • Rags and tidiness, filth and cleanliness, lay almost touching.
  • Extract from : « K » by Mary Roberts Rinehart
  • Levi's companion dropped to the sand without a sound, like a bundle of rags.
  • Extract from : « Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates » by Howard Pyle
  • All hands were called, and the rags were rolled up, and the gaskets passed.
  • Extract from : « Ned Myers » by James Fenimore Cooper
  • He was in rags, and carried the usual beggar's wallet for food or alms.
  • Extract from : « Welsh Fairy Tales » by William Elliott Griffis
  • There were some rags in an open cupboard, also on the floor.
  • Extract from : « The Uncommercial Traveller » by Charles Dickens
  • Your bank-notes had a musty odour, as if they were fast decomposing into rags again.
  • Extract from : « A Tale of Two Cities » by Charles Dickens
  • Anyhow we had rags with honor, and a right to make as much noise as we chose.
  • Extract from : « The Cavalier » by George Washington Cable
  • For just before us under the dump was a cave with walls of papers and rags.
  • Extract from : « The Harbor » by Ernest Poole
  • An old man with a huge pack of rags turned slowly and stared after them.
  • Extract from : « The Harbor » by Ernest Poole

Words or expressions associated with your search

Most wanted synonyms

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019