shag

English

Pronunciation

• (RP, US) IPA: /ʃæɡ/
• Rhymes: -æɡ

Etymology 1

Old English sceacga, akin to Old Norse skegg, beard (compare Danish skæg, spelling before the writing reform of 1948: skjæg, Norwegian skjegg, Swedish skägg), from Old Norse skaga, to protrude.

Noun

shag (plural shags)

1. Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc.
2. Coarse shredded tobacco.
   • 1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia, Faber & Faber 1992 (Avignon Quintet), p. 535:

     He was rather unshaven as well and smelt strongly of shag.

3. A type of rough carpet pile.

Derived terms

shaggy shagginess

shaggy-dog story shagger

Translations

matted material

Finnish: tukko (fi)

Italian: intreccio (it), viluppo (it), intrico (it)

coarse shredded tobacco

Dutch: shag (nl) Finnish: sätkätupakka (fi)

French: tabac à rouler (fr) m. Italian: trinciato (it), tabacco grossolano (it)

type of rough carpet pile

Finnish: karvalanka (fi)

Italian: tappeto a pelo lungo e irregolare (it)

Etymology 2

Wikipedia

Perhaps a derivative of Etymology 1, above, with reference to the bird's shaggy crest.

Noun

shag (plural shags)

1. Several species of sea birds in the family Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant family), especially the common shag or European shag, Phalacrocorax aristotelis, found on European and African coasts.

Derived terms

• Auckland shag (Phalacrocorax colensoi)
• Bounty shag (Phalacrocorax ranfurlyi)
• Campbell shag (Phalacrocorax campbelli)
• Chatham Shag (Phalacrocorax onslowi)
• Heard Shag (Phalacrocorax atriceps nivalis)
• Imperial Shag (Phalacrocorax atriceps)
• Kerguelen Shag (Phalacrocorax verrucosus)
• King Shag (Phalacrocorax carunculatus)
• Macquarie Shag (Phalacrocorax atriceps purpurascens)
• Stewart Island Shag (Phalacrocorax chalconotus)

Translations

sea bird

Finnish: merimetso (fi), karimetso (fi) French: cormoran (fr) huppé (fr) m. Italian: marangone (it)

Manx: feeagh marrey (gv) m. Spanish: cormorán m., cormorán moñudo m.

Etymology 3

Origin unknown.

Verb

shag (third-person singular simple present shags, present participle shagging, simple past and past participle shagged)

1. (intransitive) To shake, wiggle around.
2. (transitive, vulgar slang) To have sexual intercourse with.
3. (India, transitive, vulgar slang) To masturbate.
4. To chase after; especially : to chase after and return (a ball) hit usually out of play

Translations

to shake

Dutch: wiebelen (nl) Finnish: vipeltää (fi)

Italian: dimenarsi (it), agitarsi (it) Polish: mieszać (pl) n.

to have sexual intercourse with

Dutch: wippen (nl) Estonian: nikkuma (et) Finnish: panna (fi) French: sauter (fr), baiser (fr) Italian: scopare (it), chiavare (it)

Norwegian: knulle (no) Polish: pieprzyć się (pl) Serbian: kresnuti (sr) Uzbek: qoqish (uz) Vietnamese: quan hệ tình dục (vi)

to chase after

Italian: pedinare (it), seguire (it), stare alle calcagna (it)

Noun

shag (plural shags)

1. A swing dance.
2. (slang) An act of sexual intercourse.
3. (slang) A sexual partner

Translations

swing dance

Finnish: shag (fi)

act of sexual intercourse

Dutch: wip (nl) Finnish: pano (fi) French: baise (fr) f.

Greek: γαμήσι (el) n. Italian: scopata (it) Norwegian: knull (no) n.

sexual partner

Dutch: wip (nl) Finnish: pano (fi)

Italian: compagno (it)

Etymology 4

Blend of shower (“bridal shower”) and stag (“bachelor party”).

Noun

shag (plural shags)

1. (Canada, Northwestern Ontario) A fundraising dance in honour of a couple engaged to be married.

Synonyms

• stag and doe, stag and doe party (Canada, Ontario)
• social, wedding social (Canada, Prairies)

Translations

fundraising dance in honour of a couple

References

• “shag” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004.

Anagrams

• gash
• hags

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:sexual intercourse