shag

Definition

Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc.

Etymology

Etymology tree Old English sċeacga Middle English *schagge English shag 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.

Example Sentences

• "Nor ſhould it prove thy leſs important Care, / To chuſe a proper Coat for Winter's Wear. / [...] / True Witney Broad-cloath with it's Shag unſhorn, / Unpierc'd is in the laſting Tempeſt worn: [...]"
• "He was rather unshaven as well and smelt strongly of shag."
• "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?'"