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Origin and history of jagged

jagged(adj.)

mid-15c., "having notches," from verb jaggen (c. 1400) "to pierce, slash, cut; to notch or nick; cut or tear unevenly," a Scottish and northern English word of unknown origin, related to jag (n.2). Originally of garments with regular "toothed" edges; meaning "with the edge irregularly cut" is from 1570s. Related: Jaggedly; jaggedness.

also from mid-15c.

Entries linking to jagged

jag(n.2)

"slash or rend in a garment," c. 1400, of unknown origin.

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    Trends of jagged

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    scraggy
    early 13c., scraggi, "rough, jagged" (figurative); 1570s, of landscape, "rough, rugged, stumpy;" 1610s, of persons or animals, "gaunt and wasted, lean, thin, bony;" see scrag (n.) + -y (2), and compare scroggy, scraggly, scrawny. In the landscape sense perhaps via scrag in the ob
    snag
    The general meaning, in reference to any sharp or jagged projection is recorded from 1580s; especially "tree or part of a...
    indent
    early 15c., indenten, endenten "to make notches; to give (something) a toothed or jagged appearance," also "to make a legal...
    chain
    Chain-lightning, visible as jagged or broken lines, is from 1834....
    shark
    An ancient Greek word for a shark was karkharias, from karkharos "sharp, jagged, biting," but the old theory that traces...
    cut
    c. 1300, "to make, with an edged tool or instrument, an incision in; make incisions for the purpose of dividing into two or more parts; remove by means of a cutting instrument;" of an implement, "have a cutting edge," according to Middle English Compendium from a presumed Old Eng
    pound
    [fundamental unit of weight] Old English pund "pound" (in weight or money), also "pint," from Proto-Germanic *punda- "pound" as a measure of weight (source of Gothic pund, Old High German phunt, German Pfund, Middle Dutch pont, Old Frisian and Old Norse pund), an early borrowing
    screen
    mid-14c., screne, "upright piece of furniture providing protection from heat of a fire, drafts, etc.," probably from a shortened (Anglo-French? compare Anglo-Latin screna) variant of Old North French escren, Old French escran "fire-screen, tester of a bed" (early 14c.). This is o
    class
    c. 1600, "group of students," in U.S. especially "number of pupils in a school or college of the same grade," from French classe (14c.), from Latin classis "a class, a division; army, fleet," especially "any one of the six orders into which Servius Tullius divided the Roman peopl
    convenience
    late 14c., "agreement, conformity, resemblance, similarity," also "state or condition of being suitable, adaptation to existing conditions," from Latin convenientia "a meeting together, agreement, harmony," from convenien-, present-participle stem of convenire "to come together,

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    Dictionary entries near jagged
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