Rag, 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-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.