DCHP-2

rawny rawney, rawney-boned, < Irish ránaidhe DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• 1 adj. — 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).

• 2 n. — 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)).