nag

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See also: nǡǵ

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈnæɡ/
  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "North American also" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /neɪɡ/, IPA(key): /nɛɡ/
  • Rhymes: -æɡ

Etymology 1

From Middle English nagge, cognate with Dutch negge.

Noun

nag (plural nags)

  1. A small horse; a pony.
  3. An old useless horse.
    • 2011, James Ellroy, Clandestine, →ISBN, page 245:
      We used to lure the nags into the back of our truck with oats and sugar, then we'd drive back to town to this warehouse and inject the nags with small quantities of morphine I'd stolen.
  4. (obsolete, derogatory) A paramour.
Synonyms
Coordinate terms
  • (old useless horse): bum (racing)
Translations

Etymology 2

Probably from a North Germanic source; compare Swedish nagga (“to gnaw, grumble”), Danish nage, Icelandic nagga (“to complain”).

Verb

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  1. (transitive, intransitive) To continuously remind or complain to (someone) in an annoying way, often about insignificant or unnecessary matters.
    • 2006, Jerry Day, How to Raise Kids You Want to Keep, →ISBN:
      The room is never cleaned, so her mother nags and nags until she explodes with frustration and threatens to sell her to the lowest bidder.
  2. To bother with persistent thoughts or memories.
    • 2010, John David Wells, Diamonds of Affection and Other Stories, →ISBN, page 100:
      I guess it happens all the time in crime stories where the detective suddenly remembers a bit of conversation that nags him in some way, then for some inexplicable reason, it's just right there in front of you, like a sign pointing 'here!
    • 2010, John Goldingay, Key Questions about Christian Faith: Old Testament Answers, →ISBN:
      Sometimes I write because there is a question that nags at me, sometimes because there is a question that nags at other people.
    • 2013, Ra Page, ‎L.E. Yates, ‎ & Ann Winter, Parenthesis: A New Generation in Short Fiction:
      You are sleeping on your side in the bed in your flat, heavily embroiled in a dream which sucks and nags at you and makes no sense; an old primary school teacher is there and a cat you have to take to a supermarket; you are in a canoe.
    The notion that he forgot something nagged him the rest of the day.
  3. To bother or disturb persistently in any way.
    • 1999, Tim Parks, Adultery and Other Diversions, →ISBN:
      But at night, around the uncertain edge of dreams, and when the wind nags, there are few whom an odd sound will not thrill
    • 2013, Tina Egnoski, Perishables, →ISBN:
      When a breeze comes up and nags the surface, it sparkles like a gemstone.
    • 2014, James Lane Allen, The Last Christmas Tree: An Idyl of Immortality, →ISBN, page 8:
      We are well accustomed as we look out upon Nature at close range to see great creatures harrassed by little creatures. The lot of each big one seems to be in the keeping of some little one, which never quits it, nags it, stings it, wears it out, drives it desperate, makes life somewhat a burden to it and death somewhat a relief.
    a nagging pain in his left knee
    a nagging north wind
Synonyms
  • (continually remind or complain): ride
  • (bother with thoughts or memories): haunt
  • (persistently bother or annoy): worry
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

nag (plural nags)

  1. Someone or something that nags.
    • 2011, M.C. Beaton -, Death of a Nag, →ISBN:
      'That fellow is a nag.' 'Aye, the worst kind,' agreed Hamish, and then smiled, and at that smile, Miss Gunnery thawed even more.
    • 2014, Louise Hathaway, Nags, Sluts, and A Deep-Breasted Soulmate from the Shining City, →ISBN:
      When we see Wolfe struggling with many depictions of woman characters throughout the novel (the earlier ones being nags and white trash), we greatly admire the development of this living tribute to Aline Bernstein, a woman whom he ends up despising in his later life.
    • 2015 -, Dwight McNeill, Using Person-Centered Health Analytics to Live Longer, →ISBN:
      But, pchA has to produce more than awareness, always-on alerts/nags, or edu-tainment.
  2. A repeated complaint or reminder.
    • 2011, Mike Bryant & ‎Peter Mabbutt, Hypnotherapy For Dummies, →ISBN:
      And finally the biggest thank you of all to my partner Steven Winston for your love, enthusiasm, encouragement, support, humour, nags, and glasses of wine.
    • 2015, Steve Brookstein, Getting Over the X, →ISBN, page 58:
      I turned it on Eileen and threw in a couple of my normal nags about her driving.
    • 2016, Suzie Hayman & ‎John Coleman, Parents and Digital Technology: How to Raise the Connected Generation, →ISBN:
      A girl who expects her mother to nag her about her untidy bedroom will hear that message, even though the mother may want to talk about something quite different, so a loving invitiation to go shopping that started "When you've finished in your bedroom this morning. . ." might result in the child screaming, storming out and slamming the door because she expected this to be a nag about the state of the room and didn't let you finish with “ . . . shall we go to the shopping centre?”.
  3. A persistent, bothersome thought or worry
    • 2009, James Swift, How I Survived Three Years at a Two-Year Community College, →ISBN:
      During my lengthy aerobic strolls (which more or less served as a tool of meditation), that thought about “college” became a persistent nag.
    • 2014, Graham Allcott, How to be a Productivity Ninja, →ISBN:
      There are two ways to get rid of our nags. We can either use Ninja decision-making to turn them quickly into actions, stored in our second brain to be revisited when we have some time. Or we can simply just capture and collect the nag, knowing that our systems will ensure we return to it later.
    • 2016, Sarah Lowndes, The DIY Movement in Art, Music and Publishing, →ISBN:
      That feeling turned into a very persistent nag.

Synonyms

Translations

References

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch nacht (“night”), from Middle Dutch nacht, from Old Dutch naht, from Proto-Germanic *nahts, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /naχ/
  • audio:(file)

Noun

nag (plural nagte)

  1. The period between sunset and sunrise, when the sky is dark; night.
  2. (countable) darkness.

Colán

Noun

nag

  1. moon

Danish

Pronunciation

Noun

nag n (singular definite naget, not used in plural form)

  1. grudge

Derived terms

Verb

nag

  1. (deprecated template usage) imperative of nage

Gaikundi

Noun

nag

  1. sago

Further reading

German

Pronunciation

Verb

nag

  1. (deprecated template usage) Imperative singular of nagen.
  2. (colloquial) (deprecated template usage) First-person singular present of nagen.

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *nagъ, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nogʷós (“naked”).

Pronunciation

Adjective

nȃg (Cyrillic spelling на̑г, definite nȃgī)

  1. naked

Declension

indefinite forms
singular masculine feminine neuter
nominative nag naga nago
genitive naga nage naga
dative nagu nagoj nagu
accusative inanimate
animate 		nag
naga 		nagu nago
vocative nag naga nago
locative nagu nagoj nagu
instrumental nagim nagom nagim
plural masculine feminine neuter
nominative nagi nage naga
genitive nagih nagih nagih
dative nagim(a) nagim(a) nagim(a)
accusative nage nage naga
vocative nagi nage naga
locative nagim(a) nagim(a) nagim(a)
instrumental nagim(a) nagim(a) nagim(a)
definite forms
singular masculine feminine neuter
nominative nagi naga nago
genitive nagog(a) nage nagog(a)
dative nagom(u/e) nagoj nagom(u/e)
accusative inanimate
animate 		nagi
nagog(a) 		nagu nago
vocative nagi naga nago
locative nagom(e/u) nagoj nagom(e/u)
instrumental nagim nagom nagim
plural masculine feminine neuter
nominative nagi nage naga
genitive nagih nagih nagih
dative nagim(a) nagim(a) nagim(a)
accusative nage nage naga
vocative nagi nage naga
locative nagim(a) nagim(a) nagim(a)
instrumental nagim(a) nagim(a) nagim(a)

Synonyms

Derived terms

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *nagъ, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nogʷós (“naked”).

Pronunciation

Adjective

nȃg (not comparable)

  1. naked

Inflection

 The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
Hard
masculine feminine neuter
nom. sing. nág nága nágo
singular
masculine feminine neuter
nominative nág ind
nági def 		nága nágo
genitive nágega náge nágega
dative nágemu nági nágemu
accusative nominativeinan or
genitiveanim 		nágo nágo
locative nágem nági nágem
instrumental nágim nágo nágim
dual
masculine feminine neuter
nominative nága nági nági
genitive nágih nágih nágih
dative nágima nágima nágima
accusative nága nági nági
locative nágih nágih nágih
instrumental nágima nágima nágima
plural
masculine feminine neuter
nominative nági náge nága
genitive nágih nágih nágih
dative nágim nágim nágim
accusative náge náge nága
locative nágih nágih nágih
instrumental nágimi nágimi nágimi

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Welsh

Pronunciation

Particle

nag

  1. not (in answers and tag questions)

Usage notes

Used before a vowel, but not when that vowel has resulted from the soft mutation of g. Thus na + gallan becomes na allan, not *nag allan.

Alternative forms

  • na (used before a consonant)

White Hmong

Pronunciation

Noun

nag

  1. rain

Derived terms

Wolof

Noun

nag (definite form nag wi)

  1. cow, cattle

Zhuang

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *naːkᴰ (“otter”). Cognate with Thai นาก (nâak), Ahom 𑜃𑜀𑜫 (nak).

Pronunciation

Noun

nag (1957–1982 spelling nag)

  1. otter
    Synonym: duznag
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