shagginess

adjective, shag·gi·er, shag·gi·est.

1. covered with or having long, rough hair.
2. untidy; unkempt: a shaggy person.
3. rough and matted; forming a bushy mass, as the hair or mane.
4. having a rough nap, as cloth.
5. characterized by sloppy planning or execution: a shaggy production of Macbeth.

adjective -gier or -giest

1. having or covered with rough unkempt fur, hair, wool, etca shaggy dog
2. rough or unkempt
3. (in textiles) having a nap of long rough strands

adj.“rough, coarse, unkempt,” 1590s, from shag (n.) + -y (2). Related: Shaggily; shagginess. Earlier was shagged, from Old English sceacgede “hairy;” cf. Old Norse skeggjaðr, Danish skægget “bearded.” The shaggy-dog story as a type of joke is attested from 1944, perhaps from vaudeville.