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rawny
< Irish ránaidhe
DCHP-2 (Oct 2016)
Spelling variants:rawney, rawney-boned,
1adj. — Newfoundland, dated
thin and bony.
Type: 2. Preservation — The term may derive from the Irish Gaelic word ránaidhe, defined as 'thin or lank' (see the 1968 quotation) or from southwestern English, where the term is documented (see EDD, s.v. "rawny" (adj 2)(1)). Kirwin (1993: 79) labels the term's origin as "obsolete at present", while an analysis of actual speech patterns of Anglo-Irish speakers in Newfoundland labels rawny as one of many terms that "[had] become obsolete or relic forms for speakers [...] in St. John's and Anglo-Irish settlements" (Kirwin 1993: 76).
Quotations
1964
Swatch de fipper an twack de yaffle in de lun, yukin gumbeens outa yer puddock past yer kingcorn, yer gowdy, mush, mauzy, squabby, sharoused scut. Sloo! Yer rawny gommil, en quot on de gandy, yer binicky chuckle-head, sher.
1968
rawney, adj thin with big bones, thin with high cheek bones; generally in the phrase "rawney-boned". "He was a big rawney-boned fella." General. (ránaidhe, 877, thin or lank).
1991
One reason why Newfoundland English sounds so playful lies in its generous employment of words that end in y. On a mauzy morn, a yawny, rawny, sooky, slingey and slommocky sleeveen with clitty hair drank cheap wine, crouchied down outside my bedroom window, and tried to steal my foxy kirby.
2009
After hearing that, I also changed the rather negative opinion I had of those who once told me that, given my Newfoundland dialect, it was three weeks into basic army training before they had a clue about what I was saying. I must admit I did grow up using words I find little use for today. My vocabulary as a child included such words as: "come from away," an expression used to refer to a tourist; "gowdy," a word that meant awkwardness; and "rawny," a word used to describe someone very thin or bony -- which believe it or not I once was.
2n. — Clothing, Newfoundland, rare
worn or threadbare cloth.
Type: 3. Semantic Change — The term rawny can also be used to describe worn or flimsy cloth (DNE, s.v. "rawny" (2)); evidence suggests that is it most commonly applied to a piece of clothing, such as a sweater or a coat (see the first 1990 quotation). It was possibly used by analogy to a person who is 'thin' or 'bony' to material that is notably 'thin, poor, [or] uneven' (see EDD, s.v. "rawny" (adj 2)(2)).
Quotations
1956
P 113-56 His coat must have been cheap. It became rawny after only one winter.
1961
P 245-61 His shirt cuffs are rawny (frayed).
1979
'Twas a way of life 45 If the [sweater] was poorly done, comment was passed on it, 'Some rawny! You could shoot gulls through that!'
References
- DNE
- EDD
- Kirwin (1993)