shag
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle English *schagge, from Old English sċeacga (“hair, wool”), from Proto-Germanic *skaggô, *skaggiją (“projection, bristly hair, stem”), *skag- (“to emerge, stick out, protrude”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kek-, *(s)keg- (“to jump, move, hurry”). Akin to Old Norse skegg (“beard”) (compare Danish skæg, Norwegian skjegg, Swedish skägg). Related to shake and shock via the root.
Noun[edit]
shag (countable and uncountable, plural shags)
- Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc.
- [1716], [John] Gay, “Book I. Of the Implements for Walking the Streets, and Signs of the Weather.”, in Trivia: Or, The Art of Walking the Streets of London, London: Printed for Bernard Lintott, […], OCLC 13598122, page 4:
- Nor ſhould it prove thy leſs important Care, / To chuſe a proper Coat for Winter's Wear. / [...] / True Witney Broad-cloath with it's Shag unſhorn, / Unpierc'd is in the laſting Tempeſt worn: [...]
- Coarse shredded tobacco.
- 1978, Durrell, Lawrence, Livia (Avignon Quintet; 2), Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 535:
- He was rather unshaven as well and smelt strongly of shag.
- 1992, Rankin, Robert, The Antipope, page 68:
- The Captain folded his brow into a look of intense perplexity. 'You seem exceedingly spry for a man who demolished an entire bottle of brandy and better part of an ounce of shag in a single evening.'
'And very nice too,' said the tramp. 'Now as to breakfast?'
- A type of rough carpet pile.
- (UK, archaic) Bacon or fat, especially if with some remaining hair or bristles.
- (UK, archaic) A roughly-cut or torn-off piece of bread or cheese.
- 1830 January 23, Ettrick Shepherd, “Dr David Dale's Account of a Grand Aerial Voyage”, in The Edinburgh Literary Journal[1], volume 3, number 63, page 52:
- But it is a braw elemental sphere this o' ours, for here's a good queich o' claret for ye, an' a shag o' butter-an'-bread.
- 2001, Neriya, Ranjani, “Husk”, in Beloit Poetry Journal[2], volume 51, number 4, page 21:
- romancing Shelley between / sips of thermos tea and / yeasty shags of bread, sour-sweet, / from Lizzie Coutinho’s bakery.
- (often attributive) A deliberately messy, shaggy hairstyle.
- 2011, Liz Worth, Gary Pig Gold, Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk in Toronto and Beyond 1977-1981 (page 16)
- There was that hair salon on Yonge Street called House of Lords. On a Saturday – nowadays you can't even imagine it – but imagine a hair salon having a lineup outside of people wanting to get a shag haircut.
- 2011, Liz Worth, Gary Pig Gold, Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk in Toronto and Beyond 1977-1981 (page 16)
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Verb[edit]
shag (third-person singular simple present shags, present participle shagging, simple past and past participle shagged)
- (transitive) To make hairy or shaggy; to roughen.
- 1809, Joel Barlow, The Columbiad: A Poem[3], page 34:
- He saw the pine its daring mantle rear, / Break the rude blast, and mock the brumal year / Shag the green zone that bounds the boreal skies, / And bid all southern vegetation rise.
- (intransitive, obsolete) To hang in shaggy clusters.
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Qveene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for VVilliam Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938, book 5, canto 9:
- And long curld locks that downe his shoulders shag
Adjective[edit]
shag (comparative more shag, superlative most shag)
- (obsolete) Hairy; shaggy.
- c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene ii]:
- Son. Thou liest, thou shag-hair'd villain!
Etymology 2[edit]
Perhaps a derivative of Etymology 1, above, with reference to the bird's shaggy crest.
Noun[edit]
shag (plural shags)
- 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.
- 1941, Ernestine Hill, My Love Must Wait, A&R Classics 2013, p. 7:
- He ran back and picked up a dead bird that had fallen. It was not a duck but a shag.
- 1941, Ernestine Hill, My Love Must Wait, A&R Classics 2013, p. 7:
Hypernyms[edit]
Hyponyms[edit]
- Auckland shag (Phalacrocorax colensoi)
- Bounty shag (Phalacrocorax ranfurlyi)
- Campbell shag (Phalacrocorax campbelli)
- Chatham shag (Phalacrocorax onslowi)
- Heard shag (Leucarbo nivalis, syn. Phalacrocorax atriceps nivalis)
- imperial shag (Leucocarbo atriceps, syn. Phalacrocorax atriceps)
- Kerguelen shag (Phalacrocorax verrucosus)
- king shag (Leucocarbo carunculatus (syn. Phalacrocorax carunculatus)
- Macquarie shag (Phalacrocorax purpurascens)
- Stewart Island shag (Phalacrocorax chalconotus)
Translations[edit]
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Etymology 3[edit]
From Middle English schaggen, a variant of Middle English schoggen (“to shake; shake off; tremble”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a byform of Middle English schokken (“to shake; move rapidly”), related to Middle Low German schokken (“to shake; tremble”). Alternatively, perhaps ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skakkōną (“to shake”), specifically continuing a post-Proto-Germanic variant *skagg-, where the non-singular stem *skag- caused the analogical replacement of the stem-final voiceless geminate consonants with voiced geminates, which was then leveled throughout the paradigm.
Verb[edit]
shag (third-person singular simple present shags, present participle shagging, simple past and past participle shagged)
- (intransitive) To shake, wiggle around.
- (transitive, vulgar slang) To have sexual intercourse with.
- 1990, Michael Dobbs & Andrew Davies, House of Cards, season 1, episode 2:
- I can kick this stuff any time I like. I tell you what. Get this week over, we'll go to a health farm for ten days. No drugs. No drink. And shag ourselves silly. How about that?
- (intransitive, vulgar slang) To have sexual intercourse.
- 2002, Steven Moffat, Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (Coupling), season 3, episode 7, spoken by Jane Christie (Gina Bellman):
- I'm not pregnant! I have shagged and shagged and shagged and all the little bastards missed!
- (India, transitive, vulgar slang) To masturbate.
- To chase after; especially, to chase after and return (a ball) hit usually out of play.
- 1974, Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, New York: William Morrow and Company, OCLC 673595:
- Chris is off somewhere in the darkness, but I'm not going to shag after him.
- 1997, Algren, Nelson, The Last Carousel, page 273:
- When a White Sox scout spotted him shagging flies on a Milwaikee[sic] sandlot, and asked Felsch if he'd like to come to Chicago, Hap decided that that might be fun, too.
- To perform the dance called the shag.
Synonyms[edit]
- (to shake): jiggle, rock, tremble, wobble; see also Thesaurus:shake
- (have sexual intercourse): bonk, go to bed with, sleep with; see also Thesaurus:copulate with
- (to have sexual intercourse): do it, get it on, have sex; see also Thesaurus:copulate
- (to masturbate): get it on, have sex; see also Thesaurus:masturbate
Translations[edit]
Noun[edit]
shag (plural shags)
- A swing dance.
- (slang) An act of sexual intercourse.
- 2007, Julie Andrews, "Roman Must Die", in The Leonard Variations: Clarion 2007 San Diego, →ISBN, page 10:
- They were in the midst of an intense snog, his tongue down her throat as he tried to work out if he wanted another shag before she left for the night, when an odd noise sounded from behind the door of 2B.
- 2010, Clara Darling, Hot City Nights, St. Martin's Press (2010), →ISBN, page 107:
- “And feel free to come over anytime you'd like a drink and a shag. […]
- 2011, Josephine Myles, Barging In, Samhain Publishing, Ltd. (2011), →ISBN, page 24:
- He could say yes, then just quietly leave the area without ever seeing the man again. He could even get a shag out of Charles first.
- 2007, Julie Andrews, "Roman Must Die", in The Leonard Variations: Clarion 2007 San Diego, →ISBN, page 10:
- (slang) A casual sexual partner.
- 2003, Freya North, Pip, Harper (2003), →ISBN, unnumbered page:
- 'It turned out that it was me who was just a shag to him. He had a girlfriend I didn't know about. He presumed I was up for some no-strings action. And the thing is, I thought I was – in theory. But in practice, I realized that I wasn't.'
- 2008, Bruce Cooke, Trace Elements, Eternal Press (2008), →ISBN, page 56:
- "Was I just another shag to you, Trace? Someone to bed when the offer came?"
- 2011, Wes Lee, "Saul", in The Sleepers Almanac, No. 7 (eds. Zoe Dattner & Louise Swinn), Sleepers Publishing (2011), →ISBN, page 135:
- 'Your favourite shag?' I ask her.
- 'Martin Kershen.'
- 'He was a sexy beast.'
- 2003, Freya North, Pip, Harper (2003), →ISBN, unnumbered page:
Synonyms[edit]
- (act of sexual intercourse): see also Thesaurus:copulation
- (casual sexual partner): see also Thesaurus:casual sexual partner.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
Etymology 4[edit]
Blend of shower (“bridal shower”) + stag (“bachelor party”).
Noun[edit]
shag (plural shags)
- (Northwestern Ontario) A fundraising dance in honour of a couple engaged to be married.
Synonyms[edit]
- stag and doe, stag and doe party (Canada, Ontario)
- social, wedding social (Canada, Prairies)
Translations[edit]
References[edit]
- “shag” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004.
Etymology 5[edit]
Etymology unknown
Noun[edit]
shag (plural shags)
- (West Country) Friend; mate; buddy.
- 2008 January 9, ex_rubberdagger [username], “The Guzz Accent”, in Navy Net Forums[4]:
- I'm fcuked then mate. Born and bred sarf london and the missarse is a brummie. Oh and her old man is a scouser!!¶ You all still sound like a bunch of inbreds though but it's better than the Hereford accent "alright shag where you be"
- 2010, Featherstone, John, Hangman's Got The Blues:
- I was going down the stairs to get my bike when I ran into Jim Mudd coming up. "Alright shag?" he said like we were best mates.
- 2015 February 18, “Not had a fag for weeks”, in Reddit[5], r/TheRedLion:
- Anyways, I'll check in every now and then, cheers shag :-)
Synonyms[edit]
- See Thesaurus:friend
Anagrams[edit]
Dutch[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
shag m (uncountable, diminutive shagje n or sjekkie n)
- shag (coarse shredded tobacco)
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/æɡ
- Rhymes:English/æɡ/1 syllable
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
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- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
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- British English
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- English verbs
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- English terms with obsolete senses
- English adjectives
- English terms with unknown etymologies
- English vulgarities
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- Indian English
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- en:Dances
- en:Suliform birds
- Dutch terms borrowed from English
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- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛk
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch uncountable nouns
- Dutch masculine nouns
- nl:Smoking