WAGGING

WAG

wag, waggle

(verb) move from side to side; “The happy dog wagged his tail”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Verb

wagging

present participle of wag

Noun

wagging (plural waggings)

The motion of something that is wagged.

the waggings of a dog's tail

Source: Wiktionary

WAG

Wag, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wagged; p. pr. & vb. n. Wagging.] Etym: [OE. waggen; probably of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. vagga to rock a cradle, vagga cradle, Icel. vagga, Dan. vugge; akin to AS. wagian to move, wag, wegan to bear, carry, G. & D. bewegen to move, and E. weigh. *136. See Weigh.]

Definition: 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.

Note: Wag expresses specifically the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport, and mockery.

Wag, v. i.

1. To move one way and the other; to be shaken to and fro; to vibrate. The resty sieve wagged ne'er the more. Dryden.

2. 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.

3. To go; to depart; to pack oft. [R.] I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag. Shak.

Wag, n. Etym: [From Wag, v.]

1. The act of wagging; a shake; as, a wag of the head. [Colloq.]

2. Etym: [Perhaps shortened from wag-halter a rogue.]

Definition: 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition