GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English
last match results
Found 3 definitions
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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. √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”.
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No discerner durst wag his tongue in censure. Shak.
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Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. Jer. xviii. 16.
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☞ Wag expresses specifically the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport, and mockery.
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Wag, v. i.
1. To move one way and the other; to be shaken to and fro; to vibrate.
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The resty sieve wagged ne'er the more. Dryden.
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2. To be in action or motion; to move; to get along; to progress; to stir. [Colloq.]
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“Thus we may see,” quoth he, “how the world wags.” Shak.
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3. To go; to depart; to pack oft. [R.]
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I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag. Shak.
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Wag, n. [From Wag, v.]
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1. The act of wagging; a shake; as, “a wag of the head”. [Colloq.]
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2. [Perhaps shortened from wag-halter a rogue.] A man full of sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow; a humorist; a wit; a joker.
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We wink at wags when they offend. Dryden.
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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.
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