Draggletailed

/ˈdræɡəlˌteɪld/ adjective

Definition

Having a trailing, muddy, or disheveled appearance; looking like a draggletail; untidy and unkempt.

Etymology

Adjectival form of 'draggletail,' adding the '-ed' suffix to describe someone or something having draggletail characteristics. Emerged in the same 17th-century period when the noun form was used as an insult.

Kelly Says

Shakespeare's contemporary writers used 'draggletailed' to describe both actual physical untidiness and moral degradation—the language reveals how deeply cloth and character were entangled in early modern thinking.

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