Rag·ged a.
1. Rent or worn into tatters, or till the texture is broken; as, a ragged coat; a ragged sail.
2. Broken with rough edges; having jags; uneven; rough; jagged; as, ragged rocks.
3. Hence, harsh and disagreeable to the ear; dissonant. [R.] “A ragged noise of mirth.”
4. Wearing tattered clothes; as, a ragged fellow.
5. Rough; shaggy; rugged.
What shepherd owns those ragged sheep? --Dryden.
Ragged lady Bot., the fennel flower (Nigella Damascena).
Ragged robin Bot., a plant of the genus Lychnis (Lychnis Flos-cuculi), cultivated for its handsome flowers, which have the petals cut into narrow lobes.
Ragged sailor Bot., prince's feather (Polygonum orientale).
Ragged school, a free school for poor children, where they are taught and in part fed; -- a name given at first because they came in their common clothing. [Eng.]
-- Rag*ged*ly, adv. -- Rag*ged*ness, n.
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Cuck·oo·flow·er n. Bot. A species of Cardamine (Cardamine pratensis), or lady's smock. Its leaves are used in salads. Also, the ragged robin (Lychnis Flos-cuculi).
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Gil·ly·flow·er n. [Written also gilliflower.] Bot.
1. A name given by old writers to the clove pink (Dianthus Caryophyllus) but now to the common stock (Matthiola incana), a cruciferous plant with showy and fragrant blossoms, usually purplish, but often pink or white.
2. A kind of apple, of a roundish conical shape, purplish red color, and having a large core.
Clove gillyflower, the clove pink.
Marsh gillyflower, the ragged robin (Lychnis Flos-cuculi).
Queen's gillyflower, or Winter gillyflower, damewort.
Sea gillyflower, the thrift (Armeria vulgaris).
Wall gillyflower, the wallflower (Cheiranthus Cheiri).
Water gillyflower, the water violet.
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Lychnis flos-cuculi
n : common perennial native to Europe and western Asia having
usually pink flowers with ragged petals [syn: ragged
robin, cuckoo flower, Lychins floscuculi]