towel or rag

[curiousmarcus]

In our home we have a rectangular piece of cloth for drying hands, and another one that has a different color for wiping the dining table.

We call the one for drying hands a towel.

Do you call the one for wiping the table a rag?

The cloths look exactly the same, except for the difference in color. I'm asking because my son is confusing the rag for a towel.

Is a towel for the body (plus dishes) while a rag is for things? Does the condition of the cloth suggest which word to use? Or is it just the function?

 

[bhaisahab]

In our home we have a rectangular piece of cloth for drying hands, and another one that has a different color for wiping the dining table.

We call the one for drying hands a towel.

Do you call the one for wiping the table a rag? I'd call it a cloth.

The cloths look exactly the same, except for the difference in color. I'm asking because my son is confusing the rag for a towel.

Is a towel for the body (plus dishes) while a cloth is for things? Yes. Does the condition of the cloth suggest which word to use? Or is it just the function?

Bhai.

 

[Roman55]

A rag is a piece of cloth (usually old, and maybe torn from something else) that is used for cleaning things, before it is eventually thrown away. It's a piece of cloth at the end of its life.

A cloth or dishcloth or tablecloth is something that is specifically made for a purpose, just as a towel is.

 

[Skrej]

Although we do have the term 'wash rags', which aren't really rags when they're a new product specifically made for washing.