Where does “tag-rag” come from?
tag-rag (English) comes from English rag, from Middle English ragge, from Old English ragg, from Old Norse rǫgg, from Proto-Germanic rūhaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₃rewk-, from Proto-Indo-European h₃er- — to move, to stir; to rise, to spring; to quarrel,...
tag-rag (English): The lowest class of people; the rabble
Definitions
- The lowest class of people; the rabble
Ancestry of “tag-rag”, step by step
tag-rag traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English rag
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | rag | Tattered clothes; A piece of old cloth; a... |
| 2 | Middle English | ragge | rag, cloth scrap; cloth strip, band of fabric;... |
| 3 | Old English | ragg | — |
| 4 | Old Norse | rǫgg | shagginess; tuft; tuft, shagginess; tuft;... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | rūhaz | rough |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃rewk- | to dig; to till |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃er- | to move, to stir; to rise, to spring; to quarrel,... |