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noun

Wag n.

The act of wagging; a shake; as, a wag of the head. (Colloq.)

A man full of sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow; a humorist; a wit; a joker. "We wink at wags when they offend." "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."

verb

Wag v. t. (past & past part. wagged; pres. part. wagging) 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." "Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head." Note: Wag expresses specifically the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport, and mockery.

Wag v. i.

To move one way and the other; to be shaken to and fro; to vibrate. "The resty sieve wagged ne'er the more."

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.""

To go; to depart; to pack oft. (R.) "I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag."

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Etymology of 'Wag'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Wag" Quotes from Famous Books

... courage and stepped across the powerful animal, which did not move, but raised its tail as if to wag ...

— Timar's Two Worlds • Mr Jkai

... Arion on his dolphin; he wears a cap ending in a long proboscis-like horn, and plays a violin with a curious twitch of the bow and wag of the head, very graphically expressed, but still without anything approaching to the power of Northern grotesque. His dolphin has a goodly row of teeth, and the waves beat over ...

— Stones of Venice [introductions] • John Ruskin

... the knight, leading him from the house, and signing back the little girls who had sprung towards them—'it has been brought to my mind that you are but a youth, and, pardon me, my young master, but when lads and lasses have their heads together over one book, tongues wag.' ...

— The Chaplet of Pearls • Charlotte M. Yonge

... dogs all around the world should take part in the search, and so ever since that time, when one dog meets another he always asks: "Are you the old dog who lost the magic ring? If you are, your tail must be cut off." Then instantly both show their teeth and wag their tails to mean no. Since that time, also, cats have been afraid of water, and will never swim across a river if ...

— Philippine Folk-Tales • Clara Kern Bayliss, Berton L. Maxfield, W. H. Millington,

... Mrs Dale, who was there alone; "did the beards wag merry in the Great Hall this evening?" That was a joke with them, for neither Crosbie nor Bernard Dale used ...

— The Small House at Allington • Anthony Trollope

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