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In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed... No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.
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1828 Noah Webster Dictionary
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1828.mshaffer.com › Word [wag]

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wag

WAG, v.t. To move one way and the other with quick turns; to move a little way, and then turn the other way; as, to wag the head.

Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. Jer. 18. Matt 27. [Wag expresses particulary the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport and mockery. It is applied also to birds and beasts; as, to wag the tail.]

WAG, v.i.

1. To be quick in ludicrous motion; to stir.

Tis merry in hall, where beards wag all.

Tremble and start at wagging of a straw.

2. To go; to depart; to pack offf.

I will provoke him tot, or let him wag.

3. To be moved one way and the other.

The resty sieve waggd neer the more.

WAG, n. A droll; a man full of low sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow.

We wink at wags, when they offend.

The counselor never pleaded without a piece of packthread in his hand, which he used to twist about his finger all the while he was speaking; the wags used to call it the thread of his discourse.


Evolution (or devolution) of this word [wag]

1828 Webster1844 Webster1913 Webster

WAG, v.t. To move one way and the other with quick turns; to move a little way, and then turn the other way; as, to wag the head.

Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. Jer. 18. Matt 27. [Wag expresses particulary the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport and mockery. It is applied also to birds and beasts; as, to wag the tail.]

WAG, v.i.

1. To be quick in ludicrous motion; to stir.

Tis merry in hall, where beards wag all.

Tremble and start at wagging of a straw.

2. To go; to depart; to pack offf.

I will provoke him tot, or let him wag.

3. To be moved one way and the other.

The resty sieve waggd neer the more.

WAG, n. A droll; a man full of low sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow.

We wink at wags, when they offend.

The counselor never pleaded without a piece of packthread in his hand, which he used to twist about his finger all the while he was speaking; the wags used to call it the thread of his discourse.

WAG, n. [from the verb.]

A droll; a man full of low sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow. We wink at wags, when they offend. – Dryden. The counselor never pleaded without a piece of packthread in his hand, which he used to twist about his finger all the while he was speaking; the wags used to call it the thread of his discourse. – Addison.


WAG, v.i.

  1. To be quick in ludicrous motion; to stir. 'Tis merry in hall, where beards wag all. – Shak. Tremble and start at wagging of a straw. – Shak.
  2. To go; to depart; to pack off. I will provoke him to't, or let him wag. – Shak.
  3. To be moved one way and the other. The resty sieve wagg'd ne'er the more. – Dryden.

WAG, v.i. [Sax. wagian and wecgan; G. bewegen; D. beweegen, to move, to stir; weegen, to weigh; G. wägen, to weigh; Sw. väga, Dan. vajer, to wag, to weigh. This is the radix of the L. vacillo, Eng. fickle, wagon, wain, way, wave, waggle, &c.]

To move one way and the other with quick turns; to move a little way, and then turn the other way; as, to wag the head. Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. – Jer. xviii. Matt. xxvii. [Wag expresses particularly the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport and mockery. It is applied also to birds and beasts; as, to wag the tail.]


Wag
  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.

  2. To move one way and the other; to be shaken to and fro; to vibrate.

    The resty sieve wagged ne'er the more. Dryden.

  3. The act of wagging; a shake; as, a wag of the head.

    [Colloq.]
  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. To go; to depart; to pack oft.

    [R.]

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

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Wag

WAG, verb transitive To move one way and the other with quick turns; to move a little way, and then turn the other way; as, to wag the head.

Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. Jeremiah 18:16. Matthew 27:1. [Wag expresses particulary the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport and mockery. It is applied also to birds and beasts; as, to wag the tail.]

WAG, verb intransitive

1. To be quick in ludicrous motion; to stir.

Tis merry in hall, where beards wag all.

Tremble and start at wagging of a straw.

2. To go; to depart; to pack offf.

I will provoke him tot, or let him wag

3. To be moved one way and the other.

The resty sieve waggd neer the more.

WAG, noun A droll; a man full of low sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow.

We wink at wags, when they offend.

The counselor never pleaded without a piece of packthread in his hand, which he used to twist about his finger all the while he was speaking; the wags used to call it the thread of his discourse.

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Word of the Day

importance

IMPORT'ANCE, n.

1. Weight; consequence; a bearing on some interest; that quality of any thing by which it may affect a measure, interest or result. The education of youth is of great importance to a free government. A religious education is of infinite importance to every human being.

2. Weight or consequence in the scale of being.

Thy own importance know.

Nor bound thy narrow views to things below.

3. Weight or consequence in self-estimation.

He believes himself a man of importance.

4. Thing implied; matter; subject; importunity. [In these senses, obsolete.]

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induced

INDU'CED, pp. Persuaded by motives; influenced; produced; caused.

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