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shag 1 (shăg)
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n.
1. A tangle or mass, especially of rough matted hair.
2.
a. A coarse long nap, as on a woolen cloth.
b. Cloth having such a nap.
3. A rug with a thick rough pile.
4. Coarse shredded tobacco.
tr.v. shagged, shag·ging, shags
To make shaggy; roughen.

[Middle English *shagge, from Old English sceacga, matted hair.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
shag 2 (shăg)
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n.
A dance step of the 1930s consisting of a hop on each foot in turn.
intr.v. shagged, shag·ging, shags
To perform or execute this dance.

[Origin unknown.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
shag 3 (shăg)
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n.
Any of several cormorants, especially Phalacrocorax aristotelis of Europe and North Africa.

[Perhaps from its shaggy crest.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
shag 4 (shăg)
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tr.v. shagged, shag·ging, shags
1. To chase and bring back; fetch.
2. Baseball To chase and catch (fly balls) in practice.

[Perhaps from obsolete shag, to shake.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
shag 5 (shăg)
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v. shagged, shag·ging, shags
Chiefly British Vulgar Slang
v.tr.
To engage in sexual intercourse with.
v.intr.
To engage in sexual intercourse.

[Perhaps from obsolete shag, to shake, wiggle.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.