Draggle-tail
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A slut or slattern; a slovenly woman. archaic
"For yee shall not onely see the Damoiselles (Gentlewomen) and them of the better sort, but euery poore Chapperonnieze (draggletayle) euen to the Coblers daughter, that can Dance with good measure, & Arte, all your Quarantes, Leualties, Bransles, & other Dances whatsoeuer […]"
- 1 Dirty, untidy, ragtag.
"You notice that across the lawn the coppice looks not so wind-beaten and draggletail as it did a while ago."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"For yee shall not onely see the Damoiselles (Gentlewomen) and them of the better sort, but euery poore Chapperonnieze (draggletayle) euen to the Coblers daughter, that can Dance with good measure, & Arte, all your Quarantes, Leualties, Bransles, & other Dances whatsoeuer […]"
Etymology
From draggle (“to make wet and muddy by dragging along the ground”) + tail. Implying that such a person's gown trailed in the mire or along the ground.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.