shag

Etymology 1

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.

noun

1. Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc.
2. Coarse shredded tobacco.
   He was rather unshaven as well and smelt strongly of shag. 1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia (Avignon Quintet; 2), Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 535
   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?' 1992, Robert Rankin, The Antipope, page 68
3. A type of rough carpet pile.
4. (UK, archaic) Bacon or fat, especially if with some remaining hair or bristles.
5. (UK, archaic) A roughly-cut or torn-off piece of bread or cheese.
   But it is a braw elemental sphere this o' ours, for here's a good queich o' claret for ye, an' a shag o' butter-an'-bread. 1830-01-23, Ettrick Shepherd, “Dr David Dale's Account of a Grand Aerial Voyage”, in The Edinburgh Literary Journal, volume 3, number 63, page 52
   romancing Shelley between / sips of thermos tea and / yeasty shags of bread, sour-sweet, / from Lizzie Coutinho’s bakery. 2001, Ranjani Neriya, “Husk”, in Beloit Poetry Journal, volume 51, number 4, archived from the original on 2016-03-03, page 21
6. (often attributive) A deliberately messy, shaggy hairstyle.
   There was that hair salon on Yonge Street called House of Lords. On a Saturday – nowadays you can't even imagine it – but imagine a hair salon having a lineup outside of people wanting to get a shag haircut. 2011, Liz Worth, Gary Pig Gold, Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk in Toronto and Beyond 1977-1981, page 16

verb

1. (transitive) To make hairy or shaggy; to roughen.
   He saw the pine its daring mantle rear, / Break the rude blast, and mock the brumal year / Shag the green zone that bounds the boreal skies, / And bid all southern vegetation rise. 1809, Joel Barlow, The Columbiad: A Poem, page 34
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To hang in shaggy clusters.

adj

1. (obsolete) Hairy; shaggy.

Etymology 2

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

noun

1. Any of 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.
   He ran back and picked up a dead bird that had fallen. It was not a duck but a shag. 1941, Ernestine Hill, My Love Must Wait, A&R Classics, published 2013, page 7

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 *skakkōną (“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

1. (intransitive) To shake, wiggle around.
2. (UK, Ireland, transitive, vulgar slang) To have sexual intercourse with.
3. (UK, Ireland, intransitive, vulgar slang) To have sexual intercourse.
   I can kick this stuff any time I like. I tell you what. Get this week over, we'll go to a health farm for ten days. No drugs. No drink. And shag ourselves silly. How about that? 1990, Michael Dobbs, Andrew Davies, House of Cards, season 1, episode 2
   I'm not pregnant! I have shagged and shagged and shagged and all the little bastards missed! 2002, Steven Moffat, Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (Coupling), season 3, episode 7, spoken by Jane Christie (Gina Bellman)
4. (India, transitive, vulgar slang) To masturbate.
5. To chase after; especially, to chase after and return (a ball) hit usually out of play.
   When a White Sox scout spotted him shagging flies on a Milwaikee sandlot, and asked Felsch if he'd like to come to Chicago, Hap decided that that might be fun, too. 1997, Nelson Algren, The Last Carousel, page 273
6. (dance, uncommon) To perform the dance called the shag.
   Showman Monte Proser tried to cash in on the boom on a mass basis with his Dance Carnival in Madison Square Garden, where dancers lindy hopped, shagged and fox-trotted to the orchestras of Benny Goodman, Larry Clinton and Charlie Barnett[…] 1970, Richard R. Lingeman, Don't You Know There's a War On?[…], Putnam, page 16

noun

1. (dance">dance, sometimes capitalized) A swing dance">dance.
   Its evolutionary course is unclear; however, by the late thirties, Shag was all the rage both on and off college campuses. It became so popular, in fact, that a 1937 New York Times article describes it as “the fundamental dance step for swing.” 2011, Tamara Stevens, Erin Stevens, editors, Swing Dancing, ABC-CLIO, page 120
2. (slang, vulgar) An act of sexual intercourse.
   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. 2007, Julie Andrews, “Roman Must Die”, in The Leonard Variations: Clarion 2007 San Diego, page 10
   “And feel free to come over anytime you'd like a drink and a shag. […] 2010, Clara Darling, Hot City Nights, St. Martin's Press, published 2010, page 107
   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. 2011, Josephine Myles, Barging In, Samhain Publishing, Ltd., published 2011, page 24
   I’m not interested in having a tired, throwaway midweek shag. Having sex once a week means I can give it my full attention and energy. 2023-05-13, Kitty Drake, “This is how we do it: ‘A tired, throwaway midweek shag doesn’t interest me’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
3. (slang, vulgar) A casual sexual partner.
   '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.' 2003, Freya North, Pip, Harper, published 2003
   Was I just another shag to you, Trace? Someone to bed when the offer came? 2008, Bruce Cooke, Trace Elements, Eternal Press, published 2008, page 56
   'Your favourite shag?' I ask her. 'Martin Kershen.' 'He was a sexy beast.' 2011, Wes Lee, “Saul”, in Zoe Dattner, Louise Swinn, editors, The Sleepers Almanac, No. 7, Sleepers Publishing, page 135

Etymology 4

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

noun

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

Etymology 5

Etymology unknown

noun

1. (West Country) Friend; mate; buddy.
   I'm fcuked then mate. Born and bred sarf london and the missarse is a brummie. Oh and her old man is a scouser!!¶ You all still sound like a bunch of inbreds though but it's better than the Hereford accent "alright shag where you be" 2008-01-09, ex_rubberdagger [username], “The Guzz Accent”, in Navy Net Forums
   I was going down the stairs to get my bike when I ran into Jim Mudd coming up. "Alright shag?" he said like we were best mates. 2010, John Featherstone, Hangman's Got The Blues
   Anyways, I'll check in every now and then, cheers shag :-) 2015-02-18, “Not had a fag for weeks”, in Reddit, r/TheRedLion

adj

1. (Singapore, slang) Alternative form of shack (“exhausted”)