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Rag or Rug - What's the difference?

rag | rug |

In lang=en terms the difference between rug and rag

is that rug is a wig; a hairpiece while rag is a prank or practical joke.

As nouns the difference between rug and rag

is that rug is a partial covering for a floor while rag is tattered clothes.

As verbs the difference between rug and rag

is that rug is to pull roughly or hastily; to plunder; to spoil; to tear while rag is to become tattered.

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 ----

    rug

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A partial covering for a floor.
  • (UK, Australia) A (usually thick) piece of fabric used for warmth (especially on a bed); a blanket.
  • * 1855 , , A Boy?s Adventures in the Wilds of Australia: or, Herbert?s Note-Book , page 254,
  • They then cut down a quantity of gum-tree leaves for a bed, and threw their rugs upon them ready for bed-time.
  • * 1906 July 27, Government Gazette of Western Australia , page 2297,
  • Furnish every sleeping apartment with a sufficient number of toilet utensils and bedsteads, and sufficient bedding so that each bed shall be provided with a mattress, two sheets, a rug', and, in winter time, not less than one additional ' rug .
  • * 1950 April, Dental Journal of Australia , Volume 22, page 181,
  • My own son had a bunny rug' of which he was very fond and on being put to bed he would always demand his “bunny ' rug to suck his finger with.?
  • * 1997 , Alan Sharpe, Vivien Encel, Murder!: 25 True Australian Crimes , page 22,
  • He brought with him a rug and a sheet, and lay down by the fire.
  • A kind of coarse, heavy frieze, formerly used for clothing.
  • * Holinshed
  • They spin the choicest rug' in Ireland. A friend of mine repaired to Paris Garden clad in one of these Waterford ' rugs .
  • A rough, woolly, or shaggy dog.
  • (slang) A wig; a hairpiece.
  • Usage notes

    * (partial floor covering) The terms rug'' and carpet are not precise synonyms: a ''rug'' covers part of the floor; a ''carpet'' covers most or a large area of the floor; a ''fitted carpet runs wall-to-wall.

    Synonyms

    * (small carpet) carpet, mat * (wig) toupee, wig

    Derived terms

    * area rug * cut a rug * scatter rug * snug as a bug in a rug

    Verb

    (rugg)
  • (Scotland) To pull roughly or hastily; to plunder; to spoil; to tear.
  • (Sir Walter Scott)

    Derived terms

    * rug up (Webster 1913)

    Anagrams

    * ----