Daggled

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Soiled or dampened at the lower edge by dragging through mud, wet grass, or puddles
2. Left with a dirty, sodden hem after trailing along on wet ground or through a muddy road
3. Splattered and bedraggled with mud along the bottom, as when a skirt or cloak sweeps through puddles

Etymology: "Daggled" is the past tense and past participle of "daggle," a verb meaning to make wet or muddy by dragging through mud or wet ground, usually said of trailing skirts or hems. The verb is built from "dag," a word for a bit of dirt, dung or wool clotted with it, plus the suffix "-le," which in English verbs typically marks repeated or continued action, so "daggle" means something like to keep dragging or dipping something through muck. The base noun "dag" is the older element, and it belongs to a family of English dialect words for clotted or matted matter. Its exact ancestry is uncertain, so the safest way to see it is as a plain English formation: a noun for a dirty lump, with a frequentative suffix turning it into an action. The "-le" ending is the same one found in words like "dabble" and "waddle," which likewise describe repeated small motions.

Synonyms: trail, drag