adjective, shag·gi·er, shag·gi·est.
- covered with or having long, rough hair.
- untidy; unkempt: a shaggy person.
- rough and matted; forming a bushy mass, as the hair or mane.
- having a rough nap, as cloth.
- characterized by sloppy planning or execution: a shaggy production of Macbeth.
adjective -gier or -giest
- having or covered with rough unkempt fur, hair, wool, etca shaggy dog
- rough or unkempt
- (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.