wag

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to move rapidly or repeatedly from side to side, especially a tail, finger, or head

   The dog began to wag its tail when it heard the gate open.

2. 2
   noun

   a single movement or a period of moving from side to side

   The puppy answered with an eager wag of its tail.

3. 3
   noun

   old-fashioned: a witty or mischievous person

   The village wag always had a joke ready for visitors.

Simplified etymology

The verb wag comes from Old English wagian, “to sway,” and is also the source of waggle. The noun wag, “joker,” is separate: it began in the 16th century as a term for a mischievous boy or lively young man and probably developed from waghalter, “someone likely to be hanged.” WAG in the sense “wife or girlfriend” is an acronym first recorded in 2002 and widely popularized during the 2006 football World Cup.

From Middle English waggen, probably continuing Old English wagian 'to move or shake' and reinforced by Old Norse vaga 'to sway or waddle.' These forms belong to a Germanic family describing repeated side-to-side movement.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary