mid-15c., "full of crags;" see crag + -y (2). From 1560s as "hard, rough, rugged." Related: Cragginess.
Entries linking to craggy
crag n.
"a steep, rugged rock; rough, broken, projecting rock, especially a sea-cliff," early 14c. (as a place-name element from c. 1200), probably from a Celtic source akin to Old Irish crec "rock," and carrac "cliff," Welsh craig "rock, stone," Manx creg, Breton krag. A cragsman (1815) is "one dexterous in climbing cliffs overhanging the sea to get the eggs of sea-birds."
-y 2
adjective suffix, "full of or characterized by," from Old English -ig, from Proto-Germanic *-iga- (source also of Dutch, Danish, German -ig, Gothic -egs), from PIE -(i)ko-, adjectival suffix, cognate with elements in Greek -ikos, Latin -icus (see -ic). Originally added to nouns in Old English; used from 13c. with verbs, and by 15c. even with other adjectives (for example crispy). Adjectives such as hugy, vasty are artificial words that exist for the sake of poetical metrics.