I. ˈlag, -aa(ə)g, -aig verb
( lagged ; lagged ; lagging ; lags )
Etymology: prob of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian lagga to go slowly
intransitive verb
1. : to stay or fall behind : fail to keep up:
a.
(1) : to move slowly : hang back : linger , loiter
as he neared the old home, his steps lagged — L.C.Douglas
lagged behind intent on my collecting — David Fairchild
lagging a step or two behind in embarrassment — Harold Sinclair
at no time in my life have seconds lagged so much — T.B.Bruff
business continued to lag — Wall Street Journal
(2) : delay , procrastinate
will let applicants lag a bit in providing this information — Wall Street Journal
b. : to move, function, or develop with comparative slowness:
(1) : to be slow or become retarded especially by comparison with something closely associated or related — usually used with behind
accomplishment lagging behind purpose
rents lagged far behind prices — W.P.Webb
new hospital construction continues to lag behind the need — D.D.Eisenhower
through inattention, she lagged behind at school — Elizabeth Taylor
(2) : to become retarded in attaining maximum value or development
the current lags behind the voltage
insulin of the modified protamine type has relatively quick action, for it lags two hours only — Year Book of Endocrinology
c. : to slacken or weaken little by little : flag
interest in the fascinating drama of French politics never lagged — C.G.Bowers
that concern with books and reading has never lagged — Ruth Gagliardo
2.
a. : to shoot a taw or toss a jack toward a line marked on the ground to determine the order of play in ringer or jacks
b. : to cause a cue ball to rebound from the foot cushion of a billiard table so as to stop as near as possible to the head cushion or sometimes the head string (as for determining order of play) : string
c. : to throw coins or counters to decide possession by relative closeness to a fixed mark
gambling with Bryan and McKinley buttons, lagging at a line — C.L.Baldridge
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to cause to lag : retard
2. : to lag behind
a circuit in which the current lags the voltage — A.E.Fitzgerald
the one that reaches a particular point in a cycle last is said to lag the other — N.M.Cooke & John Markus
3. : to pitch or shoot (as a coin, counter, marble) at a mark
beer corks lagged, in lieu of pennies, along the sidewalk cracks — Nelson Algren
lag aggies — P.D.Boles
Synonyms: see delay
II. noun
( -s )
1. : one that lags : one that is last
the lag of all the flock — Alexander Pope
2. lags plural , obsolete : dregs, lees
3. obsolete : the lowest class
the common lag of people — Shakespeare
4.
a. : the action or the condition of lagging : a falling or staying behind
a region marked in the recent past by relative conservatism, inertia, and lag — Hylan Lewis
a series of spurts and lags — Times Literary Supplement
this work must go forward without lag — D.D.Eisenhower
a definite lag had come in business and industry — W.A.White
a considerable lag of the blood pressure curve behind the G curve — H.G.Armstrong
b. : comparative slowness or retardation (as in movement, operation, development)
the social and political lag that makes the world go on operating in terms of old antagonisms — Saturday Review
adjustments for price lag — Collier's Year Book
this apparent lag behind American practice — O.S.Nock
their intellectual lag in comparison with the rest of Europe — S.H.Cross
c. : a falling behind or retardation of one phenomenon with respect to another phenomenon to which it is closely related ; especially : delay of a physical effect behind its cause or of the response of an indicating instrument behind the changed condition it registers
the lag of sound in some opera houses — Warwick Braithwaite
the lag of an alternating current in an inductive circuit behind the impressed voltage
lag of strain behind stress in an imperfectly elastic material under varying stress
because they have no lag and indicate an error as it occurs, the horizon and gyro are a tremendous aid in flying the airplane more easily and precisely — H.L.Redfield
d.
(1) : an amount of lag or the time during which lagging continues : degree or length of retardation or delay
the lag between the present and the latest reasonably accurate figures may be four or five years — E.W.Miller
during this lag the government should provide help — H.S.Truman
in Scotland the lag was a longer one — Ian Finlay
made up more than two thirds of the lag behind whites with which they came North — A.L.Kroeber
(2) : a space or period of time especially between related events or phenomena : interval
the lag between composition and publication is not a uniform one — Nation
in the lag between basketball season and baseball — Norman Mailer
in the lags of silence which fell over the shouts — Lawrence Durrell
5. : the action of lagging for opening shot (as in ringer or billiards)
III. adjective
1. : last , hindmost — used chiefly in the phrase lag end
the lag end of my life — Shakespeare
2. chiefly dialect : coming tardily after or behind : belated , late
IV. transitive verb
( lagged ; lagged ; lagging ; lags )
Etymology: origin unknown
1. obsolete : steal
2. slang
a. : to transport for crime or send to penal servitude ; broadly : to send to jail : imprison
the first big-timers to be lagged for using the mails — D.W.Maurer
b. slang chiefly Britain : arrest , apprehend
don't kindle a fire, unless you want to get lagged — Joseph Furphy
V. ˈlag noun
( -s )
Etymology: lag (IV)
1.
a. slang chiefly Britain : a person transported for crime or sent to penal servitude : one who is serving or has served a term in prison : convict , jailbird
the typical young lag — Times Literary Supplement
b. Australia : ex-convict ; especially : a convict immigrant to Australia
impossible for him not to know that his father was a lag — Rex Ingamells
2. slang chiefly Britain : a term of transportation or penal servitude : jail sentence : stretch
VI. ˈlag, -aa(ə)g, -aig noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse lögg rim of a barrel, Swedish lagg stave
1. : a barrel stave
2.
a. : a wooden stave or slat forming part of a covering for a cylindrical object (as a boiler or a carding-machine cylinder)
b. : a strip of any of various materials (as felt or asbestos) used in making a covering or casing especially for a cylindrical structure
3. : a bearing strip in an arch or vault centering
4. textile manuf
a. : a wooden link in a pattern chain
b. : a large pin in the revolving cylinder of a picker
VII. transitive verb
( lagged ; lagged ; lagging ; lags )
1. : to cover or provide with lags or lagging (as for protection against wear or thermal insulation)
2. : to fasten with lag screws
lag a machine to a bench