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Rag vs Drab - What's the difference?

rag | drab |

In lang=en terms the difference between rag and drab

is that rag is a prank or practical joke while drab is a promiscuous woman, a slut; a prostitute.

As nouns the difference between rag and drab

is that rag is tattered clothes while drab is a fabric, usually of thick wool or cotton, having a drab colour.

As verbs the difference between rag and drab

is that rag is to become tattered while drab is to consort with prostitutes.

As an adjective drab is

dull, uninteresting, particularly of colour.

rag

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) . Cognate with Swedish ragg.

Noun

(en noun)
  • (in the plural) Tattered clothes.
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars) (Dryden)
    • Virtue, though in rags , will keep me warm.
  • A piece of old cloth; a tattered piece of cloth; a shred, a tatter.
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars) (Milton)
    • Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers, tossed, / And fluttered into rags .
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars) (Fuller)
    • Not having otherwise any rag of legality to cover the shame of their cruelty.
  • A shabby, beggarly fellow; a ragamuffin.
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars) (Ben Jonson)
    • The other zealous rag is the compositor.
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars) (Spenser)
    • Upon the proclamation, they all came in, both tag and rag .
  • A ragged edge in metalworking.
  • (nautical, slang) A sail, or any piece of canvas.
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars) (Lowell)
    • Our ship was a clipper with every rag set.
  • (slang, pejorative) A newspaper, magazine.
  • (rfc-sense) (poker slang) A card that appears to help no one.
  • (rfc-sense) (poker slang) A low card.
    • Derived terms
    * on the rag * lose one's rag * ragwort * smell of an oily rag

    Verb

    (ragg)
  • To become tattered.
    • (Webster 1913)

    Etymology 2

    origin; perhaps the same word as Etymology 1, above.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A coarse kind of rock, somewhat cellular in texture; ragstone.
  • * 2003 , (Peter Ackroyd), The Clerkenwell Tales , page 1:
    • the three walls around the garden, each one of thirty-three feet, were built out of three layers of stone — pebble stone, flint and rag stone.

    Verb

    (ragg)
  • To break (ore) into lumps for sorting.
  • To cut or dress roughly, as a grindstone.

    • Etymology 3

    Origin uncertain.

    Verb

    (ragg)
  • To scold or rail at; to rate; to tease; to torment; to banter.
  • To drive a car or another vehicle in a hard, fast or unsympathetic manner.
  • To tease or torment, especially at a university; to bully, to haze.
    • Derived terms
    * rag the puck * rag on

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (dated) A prank or practical joke.
  • (UK, Ireland) A society run by university students for the purpose of charitable fundraising.

    • Derived terms

    * rag day * rag week

    Etymology 4

    Perhaps from (ragged). Compare later (ragtime).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete, US) An informal dance party featuring music played by African-American string bands.
  • A ragtime song, dance or piece of music.

    • Anagrams

    *

    References

    * Weisenberg, Michael (2000) The Official Dictionary of Poker. MGI/Mike Caro University. ISBN 978-1880069523 ----

    drab

    English

    Etymology 1

    (etyl), meaning "color of undyed cloth", from (etyl) ).Xavier Delamarre, ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise : une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental , s.v. "drappo" (Paris: Errance, 2001).

    Adjective

    (drabber)
  • Dull, uninteresting, particularly of colour.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=November 3 , author=David Ornstein , title=Macc Tel-Aviv 1 - 2 Stoke , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=In a drab first half, Ryan Shotton's drive was deflected on to a post and Jon Walters twice went close.}}

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A fabric, usually of thick wool or cotton, having a drab colour.
  • The colour of this fabric; a dun, dull grey, or or dull brownish yellow.
  • A wooden box, used in saltworks for holding the salt when taken out of the boiling pans.
    • Quotations
    * (English Citations of "drab")
    Synonyms
    * (fabric) (l)
    Derived terms
    * (l)

    Etymology 2

    Origin uncertain; probably compare Irish drabog, Gaelic .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (dated) A dirty or untidy woman; a slattern.
  • *
    • Old provincial society had [...] its brilliant young professional dandies who ended by living up an entry with a drab and six children for their establishment [...].
  • * 1956 , (John Creasey), Gideon's Week :
    • The doss house emptied during the day; from ten o'clock until five or six in the evening, there was no one there except Mulliver, a drab who did some of the cleaning for him, and occasional visitors.
  • (dated) A promiscuous woman, a slut; a prostitute.
  • * 1957 , (Frank Swinnerton), The Woman from Sicily :
    • Ineffable sarcasm underlined the word 'bride', suggesting that Mrs Mudge must be a drab who had married for respectability.
    (Shakespeare)
  • A box used in a saltworks for holding the salt when taken out of the boiling pans.
    • Synonyms
    * (slut) See * (prostitute) See

    Verb

    (drabb)
  • (obsolete) To consort with prostitutes.
  • *
  • *

    • Anagrams

    *

    References

    ----