Adjacent Words

Wag definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

WAG, v.t. To move one way and the other with quick turns; to move a little way, and then turn the other way; as, to wag the head.
Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. Jeremiah 18. Matthew 27. [Wag expresses particulary the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport and mockery. It is applied also to birds and beasts; as, to wag the tail.]
WAG, v.i.
1. To be quick in ludicrous motion; to stir.
Tis merry in hall, where beards wag all.
Tremble and start at wagging of a straw.
2. To go; to depart; to pack offf.
I will provoke him tot, or let him wag.
3. To be moved one way and the other.
The resty sieve waggd neer the more.
WAG, n. A droll; a man full of low sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow.
We wink at wags, when they offend.
The counselor never pleaded without a piece of packthread in his hand, which he used to twist about his finger all the while he was speaking; the wags used to call it the thread of his discourse.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a witty amusing person who makes jokes [syn: wag, wit, card]
2: causing to move repeatedly from side to side [syn: wag, waggle, shake] v
1: move from side to side; "The happy dog wagged his tail" [syn: wag, waggle]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (wagged; wagging) Etymology: Middle English waggen; akin to Middle High German wacken to totter, Old English wegan to move — more at way Date: 13th century intransitive verb 1. to be in motion ; stir 2. to move to and fro or up and down especially with quick jerky motions 3. to move in chatter or gossip <scandal caused tongues to wag> 4. archaic depart 5. waddle transitive verb 1. to swing to and fro or up and down especially with quick jerky motions ; switch <a dog wagging its tail>; specifically to nod (the head) or shake (a finger) at (as in assent or mild reproof) 2. to move (as the tongue) animatedly in conversation • wagger noun II. noun Date: 1589 an act of wagging ; shake III. noun Etymology: probably short for obsolete English waghalter gallows bird, from English ¹wag + halter Date: circa 1553 1. wit, joker 2. obsolete a young man ; chap

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v. (wagged, wagging) 1 tr. & intr. shake or wave rapidly or energetically to and fro. 2 intr. archaic (of the world, times, etc.) go along with varied fortune or characteristics. --n. a single wagging motion (with a wag of his tail). Phrases and idioms: the tail wags the dog the less or least important member of a society, section of a party, or part of a structure has control. tongues (or beards or chins or jaws) wag there is talk. Etymology: ME waggen f. root of OE wagian sway 2. n. 1 a facetious person, a joker. 2 Brit. sl. a truant (play the wag). Etymology: prob. f. obs. waghalter one likely to be hanged (as WAG(1), HALTER)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wag Wag, v. i. 1. To move one way and the other; to be shaken to and fro; to vibrate. The resty sieve wagged ne'er the more. --Dryden. 2. To be in action or motion; to move; to get along; to progress; to stir. [Colloq.] ``Thus we may see,'' quoth he, ``how the world wags.'' --Shak. 3. To go; to depart; to pack oft. [R.] I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wag Wag, n. [From Wag, v.] 1. The act of wagging; a shake; as, a wag of the head. [Colloq.] 2. [Perhaps shortened from wag-halter a rogue.] A man full of sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow; a humorist; a wit; a joker. We wink at wags when they offend. --Dryden. 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wag 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. [root]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. No discerner durst wag his tongue in censure. --Shak. Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. --Jer. xviii. 16. Note: Wag expresses specifically the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport, and mockery.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(wags, wagging, wagged) 1. When a dog wags its tail, it repeatedly waves its tail from side to side. The dog was biting, growling and wagging its tail. VERB: V n 2. If you wag your finger, you shake it repeatedly and quickly from side to side, usually because you are annoyed with someone. He wagged a disapproving finger... VERB: V n 3. If you wag your head, you move it from side to side, often because you are unhappy about a situation. He wags his head unhappily. = shake VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Shake, waggle, shake to and fro. II. v. n. 1. Vibrate, move to and fro, be shaken to and fro. 2. (Colloq.) Move, progress, stir, advance. III. n. Wit, humorist, joker, jester, droll, humorous fellow, droll fellow.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

An arch-frolicsome fellow.

Moby Thesaurus

bad boy, banana, beat, bob, bobble, booger, brandish, buffoon, bugger, burlesquer, card, careen, caricaturist, clown, coggle, comedian, comic, cutup, dangle, devil, droll, elf, enfant terrible, epigrammatist, farceur, flap, flaunt, float, flourish, fluctuate, flutter, fly, funmaker, funnyman, gag writer, gagman, gagster, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, humorist, imp, ironist, jester, joker, jokesmith, jokester, kidder, knave, lampooner, lash, librate, little devil, little monkey, little rascal, lurch, madcap, minx, mischief, mischief-maker, nutate, oscillate, parodist, pendulate, pitch, pixie, practical joker, prankster, puck, punner, punster, quipster, rapscallion, rascal, reel, reparteeist, resonate, rock, rogue, roll, rowdy, ruffian, satirist, scamp, scapegrace, shake, show-off, squirm, swag, sway, swing, swinging, switch, take, toss, twist and turn, twitch, undulate, vacillate, vibrate, waggle, wagwit, wave, waver, wield, wiggle, wigwag, wisecracker, wit, witling, wobble, wriggle, writhe, zany