different between lag vs stagger

English

Etymology

Origin uncertain, perhaps a dialectal adjective lag distorted from last, or of North Germanic origin, related to Norwegian lagga (“to go slowly”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /læ?/
• Rhymes: -æ?

Adjective

lag

1. late
2. (obsolete) Last; long-delayed.
3. Last made; hence, made of refuse; inferior.
   • 1690, John Dryden, Don Sebastian, King of Portugal

     We know your thoughts of us, that laymen are lag souls, and rubbish of remaining clay.

Translations

Noun

lag (countable and uncountable, plural lags)

1. (countable) A gap, a delay; an interval created by something not keeping up; a latency.
   • 2004, May 10. The New Yorker Online,

     During the Second World War, for instance, the Washington Senators had a starting rotation that included four knuckleball pitchers. But, still, I think that some of that was just a generational lag.

2. (uncountable) Delay; latency.
   • 2001, Patricia M. Wallace, The psychology of the Internet

     When the lag is low, 2 or 3 seconds perhaps, Internet chatters seem reasonably content.

   • 2002, Marty Cortinas, Clifford Colby, The Macintosh bible

     Latency, or lag, is an unavoidable part of Internet gaming.

3. (Britain, slang, archaic) One sentenced to transportation for a crime.
4. (Britain, slang) a prisoner, a criminal.
   • 1934, P. G. Wodehouse, Thank You, Jeeves

     On both these occasions I had ended up behind the bars, and you might suppose that an old lag like myself would have been getting used to it by now.
5. (snooker) A method of deciding which player shall start. Both players simultaneously strike a cue ball from the baulk line to hit the top cushion and rebound down the table; the player whose ball finishes closest to the baulk cushion wins.
6. One who lags; that which comes in last.
7. The fag-end; the rump; hence, the lowest class.
8. A stave of a cask, drum, etc.; especially (engineering) one of the narrow boards or staves forming the covering of a cylindrical object, such as a boiler, or the cylinder of a carding machine or steam engine.
9. A bird, the greylag.

Usage notes

In casual use, lag and latency are used synonymously for "time delay between initiating an action and the effect", with lag being more casual. In formal use, latency is the technical term, while lag is used when latency is greater than usual, particularly in internet gaming. When used as a comparative to refer to the distance between moving objects lag refers to a moving object that has not yet reached the reference object position, whether linear or rotational. The term latency is not used in technical jargon for linear or rotational distance. The neutral term displacement can be used ambiguously and may refer to the distance between objects without indicating direction. In this use, lag, lags, and lagging are the complements of lead, leads, and leading. For example, For any AC power system, at all reactive loads, the current waveform has a phase displacement or power factor to the voltage. An inductive load has a lagging power factor, while a capacitive load has a leading PF.

Synonyms

• (delay): latency

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Finnish: lagi
• ? Swedish: lagg n

Translations

Verb

lag (third-person singular simple present lags, present participle lagging, simple past and past participle lagged)

1. to fail to keep up (the pace), to fall behind
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, Canto I

     Behind her farre away a Dwarfe did lag, / That lasie seemd in being ever last, / Or wearied with bearing of her bag / Of needments at his backe.

   • 1717, The Metamorphoses of Ovid translated into English verse under the direction of Sir Samuel Garth by John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Joseph Addison, William Congreve and other eminent hands

     While he, whose tardy feet had lagg'd behind, / Was doom'd the sad reward of death to find.

   • 2004, — The New Yorker, 5 April 2004

     Over the next fifty years, by most indicators dear to economists, the country remained the richest in the world. But by another set of numbers—longevity and income inequality—it began to lag behind Northern Europe and Japan.

2. to cover (for example, pipes) with felt strips or similar material (referring to a time lag effect in thermal transfer)
   • c. 1974, Philip Larkin, The Building

     Outside seems old enough: / Red brick, lagged pipes, and someone walking by it / Out to the car park, free.

3. (Britain, slang, archaic) To transport as a punishment for crime.
   • 1847, Thomas De Quincey, Secret Societies"

     She lags us if we poach.

4. (Britain, slang, archaic) To arrest or apprehend.
5. (transitive) To cause to lag; to slacken.
   • 1632, Thomas Heywood, The Iron Age

     The weight would lagge thee that art wont to flye.

Descendants

• ? Swedish: lagga

Translations

Derived terms

• lagging
• lag behind

See also

• tardy

Further reading

• Latency (engineering) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Building insulation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Jet lag on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Turbo lag on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• AGL, ALG, Alg., GAL, GLA, Gal, Gal., LGA, gal, gal., ?Gal

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch lachen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???/

Verb

lag (present lag, present participle laggende, past participle gelag)

1. to laugh

Related terms

• glimlag

Albanian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Albanian *lauga, from Proto-Indo-European *lowg- (compare Old Norse laug (“hot spring, bath”), Latvian luga (“marshy deposit, silt”), Serbo-Croatian l?ža (“puddle, pool”)).

Verb

lag (first-person singular past tense laga, participle lagur)

1. to wet, moisten
2. (colloquial) to water
3. (geography) to wash land (of a body of water)

Derived terms

• lagë
• lagësht
• lagështirë
• lëgatë
• lagaterë
• lug
• lagëtur

Etymology 2

From Proto-Albanian *lag-, from Proto-Indo-European *leg?- (“to lay, lie (down)”). Cognate with Ancient Greek ????? (lókhos, “ambush, ambuscade, armed band”), Gothic ???????????????????????? (lagjan, “to lay”). Singular form of lagje.

Noun

lag m

1. troop, band, encampment

Related terms

• lagje
• log

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse lag, from Proto-Germanic *lag?. Doublet of lav (“guild”) and lov (“law”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /la???/, [læ?j], [læ?]
• Rhymes: -æ?

Noun

lag n (singular definite laget, plural indefinite lag)

1. layer, coat (a coherent mass spread on the top or on the outside of something else)
2. (sociology) class, stratum (class of society with similar status)
3. (geology) stratum (layer of sedimentary rock)

Inflection

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?x
• IPA^(key): /l?x/
• Homophones: lach

Verb

lag

1. singular past indicative of liggen

Anagrams

• alg, gal

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse lag

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l?a?/
• Rhymes: -?a?
• Homophones: lað, læ, læð

Noun

lag n (genitive singular lags, plural løg)

1. layer
2. (in compounds) what belongs together (company, union)
3. regularity, order
4. skill, capability

   hann hevur gott lag á tí.

   he has good skills in that

5. method, system
6. importance

   tað liggur einki lag á.

   This is not important.

7. mood

   tað er einki lag á honum.

   He is in a bad mood.

8. design, shape
9. melody

Declension

Derived terms

• andalag
• arbeiðslag
• eyðkennislag
• ferðalag
• felag
• grundarlag
• havnarlag
• hjúnalag
• huglag
• í lagi
• jarðlag
• ljóðlag
• niðurlag
• parlag
• rakstrarlag
• sólarlag
• stiglag
• stjórnarlag
• tjóðlag
• undirlag
• veðurlag
• yrkingarlag
• ørindislag

German

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -a?k

Verb

lag

1. first/third-person singular preterite of liegen

Gothic

Romanization

lag

1. Romanization of ????????????

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse lag.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /la??/ ()
• Rhymes: -a??

Noun

lag n (genitive singular lags, nominative plural lög)

1. layer
2. (geology) stratum
3. tune, song
4. order
5. thrust, stab
6. good method, knack

Declension

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish lac, from Proto-Celtic *laggos, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh?g-, compare English slack and Latin laxus (“slack”).

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Aran) IPA^(key): /l????/
• (Connemara, Mayo, Ulster) IPA^(key): /l??a?/

Adjective

lag (genitive singular masculine laig, genitive singular feminine laige, plural laga, comparative laige)

1. weak

Declension

Maltese

Etymology

From Sicilian lagu, from Latin lacus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /la?k/

Noun

lag m (plural lagi)

1. lake

   Synonym: g?adira

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse lag

Noun

lag n (definite singular laget, indefinite plural lag, definite plural laga or lagene)

1. layer

   "Denne sjokoladen har et lag med hvitt lag utenpå." (This chocolate has a white outer layer.)

2. team (group of people)

3. (rare, especially outside stock phrases) mood; very frequently found in the definite ("laget"), often preceded by "godt" (see below)

   "Han er i godt lag i dag." (He's having a good day. / He's happy. / He's happy today.)

4. (quite rare) party; found mainly in the phrase "godt lag" meaning "good people", "good company" or "good party"

   "I godt lag spiller det ingen rolle hva man feirer, hvor eller hvordan." (Surrounded by friendly/good/nice people, it doesn't matter why you are celebrating, or where or how.)

5. (military) a squad

Synonyms

• (sense 2) team

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Verb

lag

1. imperative of lage

References

• “lag” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse lag, from Proto-Germanic *lag?.

Noun

lag n (definite singular laget, indefinite plural lag, definite plural laga)

1. layer
2. team (group of people)
3. mood
4. (military) a squad

Synonyms

• (sense 2) team

Derived terms

Verb

lag

1. imperative of laga

References

• “lag” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *lag?, from Proto-Indo-European *leg?-.

Noun

lag n (genitive lags, plural l?g)

1. stratum, layer
2. due place, right position
3. companionship, fellowship
4. living together
5. cohabitation
6. market price, tax
7. thrust, stab (with a knife, sword or spear)
8. air, tune

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

• laga
• leggja
• liggja

Descendants

• Icelandic: lag n; lög n pl
• Norwegian Nynorsk: lag n; lov f

References

• lag in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, G. T. Zoëga, Clarendon Press, 1910, at Internet Archive.

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *l?gaz (“low”).

Adjective

l?g (comparative l?giro, superlative l?gist)

1. low

Declension

Romansch

Alternative forms

• (Sutsilvan) laitg
• (Rumantsch Grischun, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Vallader) lai
• (Puter) lej

Etymology

From Latin lacus, from Proto-Italic *lakus, from Proto-Indo-European *lókus (“lake, pool”).

Noun

lag m (plural lags)

1. (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan) lake

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish lac (“weak”)

Adjective

lag

1. weak, feeble

Derived terms

• deoch-lag

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l???/
• Rhymes: -???

Etymology 1

From Old Swedish lagh, from Old Norse l?g. Cognate with Danish lov, Norwegian lov, English law.Related to Old Norse leggja “to define”.

Noun

lag c

1. a law; a written or understood rule that concerns behaviours and the appropriate consequences thereof. Laws are usually associated with mores.
2. law; the body of written rules governing a society.
3. a law; a one-sided contract.
4. a law; an observed physical law.
5. (mathematics) a law; a statement that is true under specified conditions.

Usage notes

• In the expression vara någon till lags (“to be of service to someone”), this is an ancient genitive controlled by the preposition till (“to”)

Declension

Derived terms

See also

• juridik

Etymology 2

From Old Swedish lagher, from Old Norse l?gr, from Proto-Germanic *laguz, from Proto-Indo-European *lakw-.Cognate with Latin lacus.

Noun

lag c

1. (cooking) a water-based solution of sugar, salt and/or other spices; e.g. brine

Declension

Related terms

• saltlag
• sockerlag
• ättikslag

Etymology 3

From Old Swedish lagh, from Old Norse lag. Derived from Old Norse leggja (“to lay”) or liggja (“to lie”).

Noun

lag n

1. a workgroup, a team; group of people which in sports compete together versus another team; or in general, work closely together

Declension

Derived terms

References

• lag in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

Anagrams

• alg, gal

Tagakaulu Kalagan

Noun

lag

1. wild cat

Westrobothnian

Etymology 1

From Old Norse l?gr, from Proto-Germanic *laguz, from Proto-Indo-European *lókus (“lake, pond.”)

Noun

lag m (definite lagjän)

1. liquid, decoction of something

Derived terms

• genlag

Etymology 2

From Old Norse lag n (“stratum, layer; due place; fellowship; cohabitation; etc.,”) pl l?g (“law, laws; participation or fellowship in law,”) from Proto-Germanic *lag?, from Proto-Indo-European *leg?- (“to lie down.”)

Noun

lag n (definite lagjä)

1. layer
2. the hay in the barn or the unthreshed grain, or the straw thereof

   Bär mäg hit’n knipp bothti halm-lage

   Carry to me a bundle of the straw lying in the barn!

3. gathering, company

Noun

lag f (definite laga)

1. law

Usage notes

Neuter definite plural laga and feminine definite singular laga are not distinguishable in form, but only through surrounding grammar.

Derived terms

• gravölslag
• i lag
• lagbok
• lawi

English

Etymology

From Middle English stageren, stakeren, from Old Norse stakra (“to push, stagger”). Cognate with dialectal Danish stagre.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?stæ??/?
• (US) IPA^(key): /?stæ??/
• Rhymes: -æ??(r)

Noun

stagger (plural staggers)

1. An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion
   • 7 October 2012, Paolo Bandini in The Guardian, Denver Broncos 21 New England Patriots 31 - as it happened

     Put down the rosary beads folks, I believe hell may just have frozen over. Peyton Manning drops back, sees nothing open and runs for a first down. If you can call that running. More like the stagger of a wounded rhino. Did the job, though

   • 1861, Ellen Wood, East Lynne Chapter 39

     Afy slowly gathered in the sense of the words. She gasped twice, as if her breath had gone, and then, with a stagger and a shiver, fell heavily to the ground.

   • 1843, Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol Stave 2

     And when old Fezziwig and Mrs. Fezziwig had gone all through the dance; advance and retire; both hands to your partner, bow and courtesy, corkscrew, thread the needle, and back again to your place; Fezziwig "cut"—cut so deftly that he appeared to wink with his legs, and came upon his feet again without a stagger.

2. (veterinary medicine) A disease of horses and other animals, attended by reeling, unsteady gait or sudden falling

3. Bewilderment; perplexity.
4. The spacing out of various actions over time.
   • 19 April 2016, Rachel Roddy in The Guardian, Rachel Roddy’s Roman spring vegetable stew recipe

     I don’t include cured pork, although it is very nice, and rather than putting everything in the pan at once I prefer a stagger of ingredients, which ensures each one gets the right amount of time.

5. (motor racing) The difference in circumference between the left and right tires on a racing vehicle. It is used on oval tracks to make the car turn better in the corners.
6. (aviation) The horizontal positioning of a biplane, triplane, or multiplane's wings in relation to one another.

Translations

Verb

stagger (third-person singular simple present staggers, present participle staggering, simple past and past participle staggered)

1. Sway unsteadily, reel, or totter.
   1. (intransitive) In standing or walking, to sway from one side to the other as if about to fall; to stand or walk unsteadily; to reel or totter.

      She began to stagger across the room.

      • Deep was the wound; he staggered with the blow.

   2. (transitive) To cause to reel or totter.

      The powerful blow of his opponent's fist staggered the boxer.
   3. (intransitive) To cease to stand firm; to begin to give way; to fail.
      • 1708, Joseph Addison, The Present State of the War, and the Necessity of an Augmentation

        The enemy staggers.

2. Doubt, waver, be shocked.
   1. (intransitive) To begin to doubt and waver in purposes; to become less confident or determined; to hesitate.

      • He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief.

   2. (transitive) To cause to doubt and waver; to make to hesitate; to make less steady or confident; to shock.

      He will stagger the committee when he presents his report.

      • 1640, James Howell, England's Teares for the present Warres

        whosoever will be curious to read the future story of this intricate war , if it be possible to compile a story of it , he will find himself much staggered.

      • 1796, Edmund Burke, a letter to a noble lord

        Grants to the house of Russell were so enormous, as not only to outrage economy, but even to stagger credibility.

3. (transitive) Have multiple groups doing the same thing in a uniform fashion, but starting at different, evenly-spaced, times or places (attested from 1856).
   1. To arrange (a series of parts) on each side of a median line alternately, as the spokes of a wheel or the rivets of a boiler seam.
   2. To arrange similar objects such that each is ahead or above and to one side of the next.

      We will stagger the starting positions for the race on the oval track.

   3. To schedule in intervals.

      We will stagger the run so the faster runners can go first, then the joggers.

Translations

See also

• bestagger
• staggeringly
• staggers

References

Anagrams

• gagster, gargets, taggers