different between shrug vs shag

English

Etymology

From Middle English schruggen, shrukken, probably of North Germanic origin related to Danish skrugge, skrukke (“to stoop; crouch”), Swedish skruga, skrukka (“to huddle; crouch”). Compare also Old English scrincan (“to shrink”). More at shrink.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /????/
• Rhymes: -??

Noun

shrug (plural shrugs)

1. A lifting of the shoulders to signal indifference or a casual lack of knowledge.

   He dismissed my comment with a shrug.

2. A cropped, cardigan-like garment with short or long sleeves, typically knitted.

Translations

Verb

shrug (third-person singular simple present shrugs, present participle shrugging, simple past and past participle shrugged)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To raise (the shoulders) to express uncertainty, lack of concern, (formerly) dread, etc.

   I asked him for an answer and he just shrugged.

   When he saw the problem, he just shrugged and started fixing it.

   • He […] shrugs his shoulders when you talk of securities.

Translations

See also

• ¯\_(?)_/¯

Anagrams

• Rughs

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?æ?/
• Rhymes: -æ?

Etymology 1

From Middle English *schagge, from Old English s?eacga (“hair, wool”), from Proto-Germanic *skaggô, *skaggij? (“projection, bristly hair, stem”), Proto-Germanic *skag- (“to emerge, stick out, protrude”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kek-, *(s)keg- (“to jump, move, hurry”). Akin to Old Norse skegg (“beard”) (compare Danish skæg, Norwegian skjegg, Swedish skägg).

Noun

shag (countable and uncountable, plural shags)

1. Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc.
2. Coarse shredded tobacco.
3. A type of rough carpet pile.
4. (Britain, archaic) Bacon or fat, especially if with some remaining hair or bristles.
5. (Britain, archaic) A roughly-cut or torn-off piece of bread or cheese.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

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

Adjective

shag (comparative more shag, superlative most shag)

1. (obsolete) Hairy; shaggy.

Etymology 2

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

Noun

shag (plural shags)

1. Several species of sea birds in the family Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant family), especially the common shag or European shag, Phalacrocorax aristotelis, found on European and African coasts.
   • 1941, Ernestine Hill, My Love Must Wait, A&R Classics 2013, p. 7:

     He ran back and picked up a dead bird that had fallen. It was not a duck but a shag.

Hypernyms

• sea bird

Hyponyms

Translations

Etymology 3

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 *skakk?n? (“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

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

1. (intransitive) To shake, wiggle around.
2. (transitive, vulgar slang) To have sexual intercourse with.
3. (intransitive, vulgar slang) To have sexual intercourse.
4. (India, transitive, vulgar slang) To masturbate.
5. To chase after; especially, to chase after and return (a ball) hit usually out of play.
6. To perform the dance called the shag.

Synonyms

• (to shake): jiggle, rock, tremble, wobble; see also Thesaurus:shake
• (have sexual intercourse): bonk, go to bed with, sleep with; see also Thesaurus:copulate with
• (to have sexual intercourse): do it, get it on, have sex; see also Thesaurus:copulate
• (to masturbate): get it on, have sex; see also Thesaurus:masturbate

Translations

Noun

shag (plural shags)

1. A swing dance.
2. (slang) An act of sexual intercourse.
   • 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 (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. (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.

3. (slang) A casual sexual partner.
   • 2003, Freya North, Pip, Harper (2003), ?ISBN, unnumbered page:

     '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 (2008), ?ISBN, page 56:

     "Was I just another shag to you, Trace? Someone to bed when the offer came?"

   • 2011, Wes Lee, "Saul", in The Sleepers Almanac, No. 7 (eds. Zoe Dattner & Louise Swinn), Sleepers Publishing (2011), ?ISBN, page 135:

     'Your favourite shag?' I ask her.

     'Martin Kershen.'

     'He was a sexy beast.'

Synonyms

• (act of sexual intercourse): see also Thesaurus:copulation
• (casual sexual partner): see also Thesaurus:casual sexual partner.

Derived terms

• shag bandit

Translations

Etymology 4

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

Noun

shag (plural shags)

1. (Canada, Northwestern Ontario) A fundraising dance in honour of a couple engaged to be married.

Synonyms

• stag and doe, stag and doe party (Canada, Ontario)
• social, wedding social (Canada, Prairies)

Translations

References

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

Etymology 5

Etymology unknown

Noun

shag (plural shags)

1. (West Country) Friend; mate; buddy.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:friend

Anagrams

• Gash, HAGS, gash, hags

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English shag.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??k/
• Hyphenation: shag
• Rhymes: -?k

Noun

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

1. shag (coarse shredded tobacco)