'baggywrinkle' originates from English, specifically the compound of 'baggy' + 'wrinkle', where 'baggy' meant 'loose, bag-like' and 'wrinkle' referred to 'folds or creases'.

'baggywrinkle' appears in 19th-century nautical usage initially written as the two-word phrase 'baggy wrinkle' and later standardized in maritime writing as the single compound 'baggywrinkle'.

Initially it described a 'baggy, wrinkled appearance'; over time it evolved into the specialized nautical sense of a 'fuzzy protective covering for rigging'.