wag

See also: WAG and wäg

English

Etymology

From Middle English waggen, probably from Old English wagian (“to wag, wave, shake”) with reinforcement from Old Norse vaga (“to wag, waddle”); both from Proto-Germanic *wagōną (“to wag”). Related to English way.

The verb may be regarded as an iterative or emphatic form of waw (verb), which is often nearly synonymous; it was used, e.g., of a loose tooth. Parallel formations from the same root are the Old Norse vagga feminine, cradle (Swedish vagga, Danish vugge), Swedish vagga (“to rock a cradle”), Dutch wagen (“to move”), early modern German waggen (dialectal German wacken) to waver, totter. Compare waggle, verb

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wæɡ/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æɡ

Verb

wag (third-person singular simple present wags, present participle wagging, simple past and past participle wagged)

1. To swing from side to side, such as of an animal's tail, or someone's head, to express disagreement or disbelief.
   • 1613, William Shakespeare; [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i]:

     No discerner durst wag his tongue in censure.

   • Bible, Jer. xviii. 16

     Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.

2. (Britain, Australia, slang) To play truant from school.
   • 1848, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, xxii

     "My misfortunes all began in wagging, Sir; but what could I do, exceptin' wag?" "Excepting what?" said Mr. Carker. "Wag, Sir. Wagging from school." "Do you mean pretending to go there, and not going?" said Mr. Carker. "Yes, Sir, that's wagging, Sir."

   • 1901, William Sylvester Walker, In the Blood, i. 13

     They had "wagged it" from school, as they termed it, which..meant truancy in all its forms.

3. (obsolete) To be in action or motion; to move; progress.
   • 1623, William Shakespeare, As You Like It Act II

     "Thus we may see," quoth he, "how the world wags."

4. (obsolete) To go; to depart.
   • 1623, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor:

     I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag.

Coordinate terms

• (swing from side to side): nod, no

Derived terms

• (to not go to school): play the wag; hop the wag; wag it
• to finger-wag

Translations

to swing from side to side

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: remenar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: kwispelen (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: heiluttaa (fi), huiskuttaa (transitive); heilua (fi) (intransitive)
• French: frétiller (fr)
• Galician: abanar (gl)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: wedeln (de)
• Greek: κουνώ (el) (kounó)
• Irish: croith, luasc
• Japanese: 振る (ja) (furu), 揺れる (ja) (yureru)

• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: با دان‎ (ku) (ba dan)

• Maori: takawheta, takawhetawheta, tōroherohe, tātā
• Mongolian: шарвах (mn) (šarvah)
• Norwegian: logre (no)
• Polish: machać (pl)
• Portuguese: vaguear (pt), deambular (pt), baloiçar (pt)
• Russian: виля́ть (ru) impf (viljátʹ) (e.g. tail), маха́ть (ru) impf (maxátʹ), кача́ть (ru) impf (kačátʹ)
• Spanish: menear (es)
• Swedish: vifta (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
• Welsh: siglo (cy), ysgwyd (cy)

to not go to school

• Breton: ober skol al louarn
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 逃學 (zh), 逃学 (zh) (táoxué), 曠課 (zh), 旷课 (zh) (kuàngkè), 逃課 (zh), 逃课 (zh) (táokè)

• Dutch: spijbelen (nl)
• French: sécher (fr), faire l’école buissonnière (fr)
• German: schwänzen (de)
• Italian: marinare la scuola

• Maori: takē kura
• Norwegian: skulke (no)
• Polish: wagarować (pl)
• Portuguese: vaguear (pt)
• Russian: прогу́ливать (ru) impf (progúlivatʹ), прогуля́ть (ru) pf (proguljátʹ)
• Swedish: skolka (sv)
• Turkish: (okulu) asmak (tr), kırmak (tr), sallamak (tr)

See also

• waggle (frequentative)
• wiggle

Noun

wag (plural wags)

1. An oscillating movement.

   The wag of my dog's tail expresses happiness.

2. A witty person.

Translations

oscillating movement

• Finnish: heilutus (fi)
• Italian: scodinzolio m

• Russian: виля́ние (ru) n (viljánije)

witty person

• Czech: šibal m
• Finnish: neropatti (fi)
• French: please add this translation if you can
• German: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: naho

• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: шутни́к (ru) m (šutník), остря́к (ru) m (ostrják)
• Scots: linkie
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

See also

• skivitis

References

• The Oxford English Dictionary, (1989) The Oxford English Dictionary, Accessed 23 Feb. 2006.
• Jonathon Green, "wag," The Cassell Dictionary of Slang, (1998) p. 1257.

Anagrams

• AGW, AWG, GWA, Gaw, WGA, gaw

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Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vaχ/

Etymology 1

From Dutch wacht, from Middle Dutch wachte, from Old Dutch wahta (“watch, sentry, guard”), from Proto-Germanic *wahtwō (“watch, vigil”).

Noun

wag (plural wagte)

1. guard

Derived terms

• skildwag
• waghou
• wagtoring

Etymology 2

From Dutch wachten, from Middle Dutch wachten (“to watch, guard, keep watch, wait”), from Old Dutch *wahton, derived from wahta.

Verb

wag (present wag, present participle wagtende, past participle gewag)

1. (intransitive) to wait [+ vir (for)]

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German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vaːk/
• Rhymes: -aːk

Verb

wag

1. Imperative singular of wagen.
2. (colloquial) First-person singular present of wagen.

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Middle English

Noun

wag

1. Alternative form of wage

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Old English

Alternative forms

• wāh
• ƿāg – wynn spelling

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *waigaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wɑːɡ/, [wɑːɣ]

Noun

wāg m

1. wall (of a building or a house)

Declension

Declension of wag (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	wāg	wāgas
accusative	wāg	wāgas
genitive	wāges	wāga
dative	wāge	wāgum

Derived terms

• wāgrift
• wāgþyrel

Descendants

• English: waw

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Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vak/

Noun

wag f

1. genitive plural of waga