wag
verb
- move tail back and forth (animals)
- move back and forth, usually a body part
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L330232 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /wæɡ/
noun
Etymology: Acronyms.
- Acronym of wild-assed guess; a rough estimate.
- Acronym of women's artistic gymnastics.
verb
Etymology: From Middle English waggen, probably from Old English wagian (“to wag, wave, shake”) with reinforcement from Old Norse vaga (“to wag, waddle”); both from Proto-Germanic *wagōną (“to wag”). Related to English way. The verb may be regarded as an iterative or emphatic form of waw (verb), which is often nearly synonymous; it was used, e.g., of a loose tooth. Parallel formations from the same root are the Old Norse vagga feminine, cradle (Swedish vagga, Danish vugge), Swedish vagga (“to rock a cradle”), vugge (“to rock a cradle”), Dutch wagen (“to move”), early modern German waggen (dialectal German wacken) to waver, totter. Compare waggle, verb
- To swing from side to side, as an animal's tail, or someone's head to express disagreement or disbelief.
“No discerner durst wag his tongue in censure.”
“Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.”
- To play truant from school.
“"My misfortunes all began in wagging, Sir; but what could I do, exceptin' wag?" "Excepting what?" said Mr. Carker. "Wag, Sir. Wagging from school." "Do you mean pretending to go there, and not going?" said Mr. Carker. "Yes, Sir, that's wagging, Sir."”
“They had "wagged it" from school, as they termed it, which..meant truancy in all its forms.”
- To go; to proceed; to move; to progress.
“"Thus we may see," quoth he, "how the world wags."”
- To move continually, especially in gossip; said of the tongue.
“She's a real gossip: her tongue is always wagging.”
- To leave; to depart.
“I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag.”
- Of the tail (lower order of the batting lineup): to score more runs than expected.
“The tail wagged.”