tug

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To pull something hard, often with a quick or repeated movement.

   The child tugged at her mother's sleeve to get her attention.

2. 2
   verb

   To pull or drag something heavy with great effort.

   The police officers tugged the drunken man out of the pub.

From Middle English tuggen, toggen, from Old English togian (“to draw, drag”), from Proto-West Germanic *togōn, from Proto-Germanic *tugōną (“to draw, tear”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull”). Cognate with Middle Low German togen (“to draw”), Middle High German zogen (“to pull, tear off”), Icelandic toga (“to pull, draw”). Related to tow.

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