shag

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English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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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- (“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

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shag (countable and uncountable, plural shags)

  1. Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc.
  2. Coarse shredded tobacco.
    • 1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia (Avignon Quintet; 2), Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 535:
      He was rather unshaven as well and smelt strongly of shag.
    • 1992, Robert Rankin, 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?'
  3. A type of rough carpet pile.
  4. (UK, Ireland, archaic) Bacon or fat, especially if with some remaining hair or bristles.
  5. (UK, Ireland, 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, Ranjani Neriya, “Husk”, in Beloit Poetry Journal‎[2], volume 51, number 4, archived from the original on 3 March 2016, page 21:
      romancing Shelley between / sips of thermos tea and / yeasty shags of bread, sour-sweet, / from Lizzie Coutinho’s bakery.
  6. (often attributive) A deliberately messy, shaggy hairstyle.
    Synonym: shaggy cut
    • 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.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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shag (third-person singular simple present shags, present participle shagging, simple past and past participle shagged)

  1. (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.
  2. (intransitive, obsolete) To hang in shaggy clusters.

Adjective

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shag (comparative more shag, superlative most shag)

  1. (obsolete) Hairy; shaggy.

Etymology 2

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
Phalacrocorax aristotelis, the European shag

Unknown. Perhaps a derivative of Etymology 1, above, with reference to the bird's shaggy crest.

Noun

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shag (plural shags)

  1. Any of several species of sea birds in the family Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant family), especially a common shag or European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), found on European and African coasts.
    • 1941, Ernestine Hill, My Love Must Wait, A&R Classics, published 2013, page 7:
      He ran back and picked up a dead bird that had fallen. It was not a duck but a shag.
Hypernyms
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Hyponyms
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Translations
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Etymology 3

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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

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shag (third-person singular simple present shags, present participle shagging, simple past and past participle shagged)

  1. (intransitive) To shake, wiggle around.
    Synonyms: jiggle, rock, tremble; see also Thesaurus:shake
  2. (UK, Ireland, transitive, slang, vulgar) To have sex with.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:copulate with
    • 1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, “The Glass”, in Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 76:
      Every time since has been a disaster. Our sex life always has been. After k.b.ing me for ages, she’d eventually let me shag her.
    • 1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 18:
      ‘You never got so much as a bit of tit in three months, and I shagged her first week!’
    • 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?
  3. (UK, Ireland, intransitive, slang, vulgar) To have sex.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:copulate
    • 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!
  4. (India, transitive, slang, vulgar) To masturbate.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:masturbate
  5. To chase after; especially, to chase after and return (a ball) hit usually out of play.
  6. (dance, uncommon) To perform the dance called the shag.
    • 1970, Richard R. Lingeman, Don't You Know There's a War On? […] , Putnam, →ISBN, page 16:
      Showman Monte Proser tried to cash in on the boom on a mass basis with his Dance Carnival in Madison Square Garden, where dancers lindy hopped, shagged and fox-trotted to the orchestras of Benny Goodman, Larry Clinton and Charlie Barnett […]
Translations
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Noun

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shag (plural shags)

  1. (dance, sometimes capitalized) A swing dance.
    • 2011, Tamara Stevens, Erin Stevens, editors, Swing Dancing, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 120:
      Its evolutionary course is unclear; however, by the late thirties, Shag was all the rage both on and off college campuses. It became so popular, in fact, that a 1937 New York Times article describes it as “the fundamental dance step for swing.”
  2. (slang, vulgar) An act of sex.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:copulation
    • 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, published 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., published 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.
    • 2015 April 16, Richard P. Grant, “Sex and the successful fundraiser”, in The Guardian‎[4]:
      The blackbirds and robins and and[sic] tits and finches shout at each other, chups and warbles and chirrups that, loosely translated, mean “Fancy a shag?”, “Get OFF my land” or “I’ve got a great big tonker.”
    • 2023 May 13, Kitty Drake, “This is how we do it: ‘A tired, throwaway midweek shag doesn’t interest me’”, in The Guardian‎[5], →ISSN:
      I’m not interested in having a tired, throwaway midweek shag. Having sex once a week means I can give it my full attention and energy.
  3. (slang, vulgar) A casual sexual partner.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:casual sexual partner
    • 1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, “Cock Problems”, in Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 87:
      Lizzy is a shag extraordinaire, but has a tongue like a sailor and a castrating stare.
    • 2003, Freya North, Pip‎[6], Harper, published 2003, →ISBN:
      '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, published 2008, →ISBN, page 56:
      "Was I just another shag to you, Trace? Someone to bed when the offer came?"
    • 2011, Wes Lee, “Saul”, in Zoe Dattner, Louise Swinn, editors, The Sleepers Almanac, No. 7, Sleepers Publishing, →ISBN, page 135:
      'Your favourite shag?' I ask her.
      'Martin Kershen.'
      'He was a sexy beast.'
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 4

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Blend of shower (“bridal shower”) +‎ stag (“bachelor party”).

Noun

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shag (plural shags)

  1. (Northwestern Ontario) A fundraising dance in honour of a couple engaged to be married.
Synonyms
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Translations
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References

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  • “shag” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004.

Etymology 5

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Unknown.

Noun

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shag (plural shags)

  1. (West Country) Friend; mate; buddy.
    • 2008 January 9, ex_rubberdagger [username], “The Guzz Accent”, in Navy Net Forums‎[7]:
      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, John Featherstone, 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[8], r/TheRedLion:
      Anyways, I'll check in every now and then, cheers shag :-)
Synonyms
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Etymology 6

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From shagged or shagged out.

Adjective

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shag (comparative more shag, superlative most shag)

  1. (Singapore, slang) Alternative form of shack (“exhausted; tiring”)

See also

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  • shag-boy (potenitally derived from one of the above terms, but possibly etymologically unrelated)

Anagrams

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Albanian

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Etymology

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From Latin sagum (“sagum, cloak made of coarse fabric”).[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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shag m (plural shegje, definite shagu, definite plural shegjet)

  1. coarse linen fabric spread on the floor
    Synonyms: qilim, tapet

Declension

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Declension of shag
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative shag shagu shegje shegjet
accusative shagun
dative shagu shagut shegjeve shegjeve
ablative shegjesh

References

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  1. ^ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “shag”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 406

Dutch

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English shag.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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shag m (uncountable, diminutive shagje n or sjekkie n)

  1. shag (coarse shredded tobacco)
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