wag Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a witty amusing person who makes jokes
    wit; card.
  2. noun causing to move repeatedly from side to side
    waggle; shake.
  3. verb move from side to side
    waggle.
    • The happy dog wagged his tail

WordNet

Wag transitive verb
Etymology
OE. waggen; probably of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. vagga to rock a cradle, vagga cradle, Icel. vagga, Dan. vugge; akin to AS. wagian to move, wag, wegan to bear, carry, G. & D. bewegen to move, and E. weigh. *136. See Weigh.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Wagged ; present participle & verbal noun Wagging
Definitions
  1. 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. Shak.
    Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. Jer. xviii. 16.
    ✍ Wag expresses specifically the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport, and mockery.
Wag intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To move one way and the other; to be shaken to and fro; to vibrate.
    The resty sieve wagged ne'er the more. Dryden.
  2. 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." Shak.
  3. To go; to depart; to pack oft. R.
    I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag. Shak.
Wag noun
Etymology
From Wag, v.
Definitions
  1. The act of wagging; a shake; as, a wag of the head. Colloq.
  2. Perhaps shortened from wag-halter a rogue. A man full of sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow; a humorist; a wit; a joker.
    We wink at wags when they offend. Dryden.
    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. Addison.

Webster 1913