[Vocabulary] What does raw mean in this sentence?

[tianhang]

Hi, there. Your help is needed here.
I came across this sentence the other day. But I can't figure out the meaning of the word "raw". Here is how the sentence goes:
My mother died several days later. Dad aged raw after that.
What does raw mean in this sentence?
Any answer is appreciated here.
Wish you all the best!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

It sounds like a slangy way to say he aged extremely — down to the bone.

Where did you see or hear it?

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi, there. [STRIKE]Your help is needed here.[/STRIKE] Unnecessary. We already know why you're here.

I came across [STRIKE]this[/STRIKE] the following sentence the other day no full stop here but I can't figure out the meaning of the word "raw". [STRIKE]Here is how the sentence goes:[/STRIKE]

"My mother died several days later. Dad aged raw after that." (You need to provide the source and the author.)

What does "raw" mean in this sentence?

[STRIKE]Any answer is appreciated here.[/STRIKE] Unnecessary. We generally assume people appreciate our help.
[STRIKE]Wish you all the best![/STRIKE] Unnecessary.

Please note my comments and corrections above. Please try to keep your posts as short and to the point as possible. There is no need for a greeting, any thanks in advance or to wish anyone the best. Just ask your question and make sure that you always provide the source and author of any text you quote.

 

[probus]

I've never seen or heard the collocation of age with raw. Nor has the Corpus of Contemporary American English.

 

[tianhang]

Thanks a lot for your answer. I read it in a reading passage in a test paper. I can understand what the sentence means, but I am not clear about the definite meaning of the word "raw". Yesterdy, I read a similar sentence in the novel The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver:
"When the rough cotton pokes were filled , our hands clawed raw and our hair and shoulders tufted with white, we believed we'd done our part."
I find it hard to figure out the meaning of the word "raw" in this sentence too.

 

[tianhang]

Please note my comments and corrections above. Please try to keep your posts as short and to the point as possible. There is no need for a greeting, any thanks in advance or to wish anyone the best. Just ask your question and make sure that you always provide the source and author of any text you quote.

Thanks for your tips. I try to be straightforward next time.

 

[tianhang]

I've never seen or heard the collocation of age with raw. Nor has the Corpus of Contemporary American English.

Thanks a lot. Before I posted this thread, I searched in the Corpus of Contemporary American English too.

 

[probus]

A quick google search yields this result from wordpress:

"To pick the cotton, a worker would pull the white, fluffy lint from the boll, trying to not cut his hands on the sharp ends of the boll."

Of course we don't grow cotton here in Canada, but evidently cuts to the hands are common when picking it.

 

[GoesStation]

"When the rough cotton pokes were filled , our hands clawed raw and our hair and shoulders tufted with white, we believed we'd done our part."
I find it hard to figure out the meaning of the word "raw" in this sentence too.

That's a standard use of the word. It means "severely abraded". Picture hands deeply scratched and bleeding from repeatedly handling prickly plant matter for twelve or more hours a day.

The author of your passage may have been thinking of an analogous effect of aging.