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wag - 10 dictionary results
wag
[wag] 
verb, wagged, wag⋅ging, noun –verb (used with object)
| 1. | to move from side to side, forward and backward, or up and down, esp. rapidly and repeatedly: a dog wagging its tail. |
| 2. | to move (the tongue), as in idle or indiscreet chatter. |
| 3. | to shake (a finger) at someone, as in reproach. |
| 4. | to move or nod (the head). |
–verb (used without object)
| 5. | to be moved from side to side or one way and the other, esp. rapidly and repeatedly, as the head or the tail. |
| 6. | to move constantly, esp. in idle or indiscreet chatter: Her behavior caused local tongues to wag. |
| 7. | to get along; travel; proceed: Let the world wag how it will. |
| 8. | to totter or sway. |
| 9. | British Slang. to play truant; play hooky. |
–noun
| 10. | the act of wagging: a friendly wag of the tail. |
| 11. | a person given to droll, roguish, or mischievous humor; wit. |
Origin:
1175–1225; ME waggen < ON vaga to sway, or vagga cradle
1175–1225; ME waggen < ON vaga to sway, or vagga cradle
Related forms:
wagger, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To wag
| wag 1 (wāg) v. wagged, wag·ging, wags v. intr.
To move (a body part) rapidly from side to side or up and down, as in playfulness, agreement, admonition, or chatter. n. The act or motion of wagging: a farewell wag of the hand. [Middle English waggen; see wegh- in Indo-European roots.] wag'ger n. |
| wag 2 (wāg) n. A humorous or droll person; a wit. [Perhaps from wag1.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Wag
Wag\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wagged; p. pr. & vb. n. Wagging.] [OE. waggen; probably of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. vagga to rock a cradle, vagga cradle, Icel. vagga, Dan. vugge; akin to AS. wagian to move, wag, wegan to bear, carry, G. & D. bewegen to move, and E. weigh. [root]136. See Weigh.] To move one way and the other with quick turns; to shake to and fro; to move vibratingly; to cause to vibrate, as a part of the body; as, to wag the head. No discerner durst wag his tongue in censure. --Shak. Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. --Jer. xviii. 16. Note: Wag expresses specifically the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport, and mockery.Wag
Wag\, v. i. 1. To move one way and the other; to be shaken to and fro; to vibrate. The resty sieve wagged ne'er the more. --Dryden. 2. To be in action or motion; to move; to get along; to progress; to stir. [Colloq.] "Thus we may see," quoth he, "how the world wags." --Shak. 3. To go; to depart; to pack oft. [R.] I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag. --Shak.Wag
Wag\, n. [From Wag, v.]1. The act of wagging; a shake; as, a wag of the head. [Colloq.] 2. [Perhaps shortened from wag-halter a rogue.] A man full of sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow; a humorist; a wit; a joker. We wink at wags when they offend. --Dryden. A counselor never pleaded without a piece of pack thread in his hand, which he used to twist about a finger all the while he was speaking; the wags used to call it the thread of his discourse. --Addison.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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wag (v.)
c.1225, probably from a Scand. source (cf. O.N. vagga "a cradle," Dan. vugge "rock a cradle," O.Swed. wagga "fluctuate"), and in part from O.E. wagian "move backwards and forwards;" all from P.Gmc. *wagojanan (cf. O.H.G. weggen, Goth. wagjan "to wag"), probably from PIE base *wegh- "to move about" (see weigh). Wagtail is attested from 1510 as a kind of small bird; 18c. as "a harlot," but seems to be implied much earlier:
"If therefore thou make not thy mistress a goldfinch, thou mayst chance to find her a wagtaile." [Lyly, "Midas," 1592]Wag-at-the-wall (1825) was an old name for a hanging clock with pendulum and weights exposed.
wag (n.)
"person fond of making jokes," 1553, perhaps a shortening of waghalter "gallows bird," person destined to swing in a noose or halter, applied humorously to mischievous children, from wag (v.) + halter. Or possibly directly from wag (v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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wag
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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| WAG Gambia (international vehicle ID) |
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
