Scraggling

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Growing or spreading out in a thin, untidy, irregular manner, like hair or plants that have not been trimmed
2. Sprawling in a sparse and disordered fashion, with growth that looks thin, ragged and uneven
3. Straggling about in an unkempt, patchy way, such as weeds or stray strands that grow without any order

Etymology: "Scraggling" is the present participle of "scraggle," a verb that means to grow or spread in a straggly, irregular way. The base verb is itself a variant of "straggle," which is why the two words look and sound so alike. Because "scraggle" carries the same idea of untidy, uneven growth, "scraggling" describes things such as thin, scattered hedgerow shoots or a sparse line of stragglers trailing behind a group. The source does not give further detail on the history of "scraggle" beyond this, so nothing more can be said about its earliest uses or precise dates.

Synonyms: straggling, sprawling