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wag

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wag

  [wag] verb, wagged, wag⋅ging, noun
Use wag in a Sentence
–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

Related forms:
wagger, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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wag 1   (wāg)   
v.   wagged, wag·ging, wags

v.   intr.

  1. To move briskly and repeatedly from side to side, to and fro, or up and down.

  2. To move rapidly in talking. Used of the tongue.

  3. To walk with a clumsy sway; waddle.

  4. Archaic To be on one's way; depart.

v.   tr.
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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Word Origin & History

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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Idioms & Phrases

wag

see tail wagging the dog; tongues wag.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
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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