1869, from scrag "a raw-bones; a skinny person" (1542), probably from a Scand. source (cf. Norw. skragg "a lean person," dialectal Swed. skragge "old and torn thing," Dan. skrog "hull, carcass"); perhaps related to shrink (q.v.). Scraggy "gaunt and wasted" is attested from 1611.
[skrag-lee] 
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