Show Search Results Show Browse

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

RAGABASH, n., adj. Also ragabasch, ragabrash; ragabus, rag-a-buss, ragabush, ¶-bast.

I. n. 1. A good-for-nothing, a ragamuffin (Bwk., Rxb. 1825 Jam.; Dmf. 1899 Country Schoolmaster (Wallace) 351). Also in n.Eng. dial. Now only dial. in Eng.Slk. 1718 T. Craig-Brown History Slk. (1886) I. 439:
He was nothing but a liar and a reprobate, and a Jacobite villain and knave, and . . . a ragabast [sic].
Dundee 1996 Matthew Fitt Pure Radge 4:
ah'm mentul
pure radge
a richt ramstoorie ragabasch

2. Used coll.: a ragged, motley crew, riff-raff (Ayr. 1967).Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 267:
The ragabash were ordered back, And then began the hubble.
Ayr. 1870 J. Hunter Life Studies 41:
He was gaun to the ither warl' wi sae mony rag-a-brash that he was ashamed o'.
Kcb. 1901 R. Trotter Gall. Gossip 108:
The Saxons wus naither gude, gran', nor noble, but wus joost a set o' mean, greedy, cruel, deceitfu ragabrash, no half as gude as ordinary savages.

II. adj. Rough, uncouth, beggarly (Rxb. 1825 Jam.); good-for-nothing (Slk. 1825 Jam.).Slk. 1818 Hogg B. of Bodsbeck xv.:
However, I came something to mysel again, an' Davie he thought proper to ascribe it a' to his bit ragabash prayer.
Sc. 1829 Blackwood's Mag. (June) 802:
The ragabash rascals, who sham being ministers.

[E.M.E. raggabash, = 1., appar. a fanciful formation from Rag, n.1]

You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.

"Ragabash n., adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/ragabash>

21786

snd

Hide Advanced Search

Browse SND:

    Loading...

Share: