I. ˈtag, -aa(ə)-, -ai- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English tagge, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish & Norwegian tagg barb, prickle; perhaps akin to Middle Low German tacke pointed instrument, sharp point — more at tack
1. : a loose hanging piece of cloth : tatter , rag
2. : a metal or plastic ferrule on an end of a shoelace for facilitating passage through an eyelet
3. : a piece of material hanging from or attached to something: as
a. : a loop, knot, or tassel on a garment
their long-plumed hats and … endless tags and aiglets and rosettes — Austin Dobson
b. : a large lock of soiled and matted wool
c. : a strip of parchment attached to a deed for bearing a seal
d.
(1) : a shred of flesh or muscle
(2) : a small abnormal projecting piece of tissue especially when potentially or actually neoplastic in character
e. : a shred of metal adhering to a casting
4. : the tip of an animal's tail ; specifically : the white tip of a fox's tail
5.
a. : material added as ornamentation or explanation to something written or spoken
tags provided a moral framework for the play — Muriel C. Bradbrook
b.
(1) : a brief quotation used for rhetorical emphasis or sententious effect
in the great days of … empire building, Latin tags were on the lips of the builders — D.W.Brogan
dotes on … spellbinding oratory stuffed with big words … and Latin tags — Newsweek
famous Popian tag — Donald Davie
(2) : a hackneyed saying or quotation : cliché , saw
the trite tag … that wars are declared by the wicked and fought by the virtuous — Herbert Agar
could hardly open his mouth without using one or other of his tags — Samuel Butler †1902
c. : tagline 1
d. : a rhyming end of a line of verse
e. : a closing usually improvised phrase in a jazz piece — compare coda
f. : a recurrent characteristic verbal expression
characters with mannerisms and tags of speech parade through the novel — E.R.Davis
g. : a word or phrase acting as an interrogative increment to a question
the tag isn't it in “it's fine, isn't it?”
6.
a.
(1) : a marker made usually of cardboard, plastic, or metal and used for identification or classification
a tag pinned to his lapel, bearing his name and destination — Current Biography
a string shipping tag slipped through a loop in the handle is used instead of the gummed label — Elizabeth Golterman
— see dog tag , license plate , price tag
(2) : tagboard
b. : a word or phrase used as an often superficial description or identification : label , epithet
to the name of murderess would be added the tag of ingrate — Grace Metalious
social behaviorist is the tag that has remained on him — Maurice Natanson
7. : a small piece of tinsel or other bright material encircling the shank of the hook at the end of the body of an artificial fly — see fly illustration
8. : a detached fragmentary piece of something : vestige
the few tags and oddments I was able to hold on to, and treasure up in memory — Thomas Wood †1950
9. : a document notifying an automobile owner of having committed a traffic violation : ticket
been putting tags on the car at twenty-minute intervals — Erle Stanley Gardner
10. : label 9
II. verb
( tagged ; tagged ; tagging ; tags )
Etymology: Middle English taggen, from tagge, n.
transitive verb
1. : to provide or mark with or as if with a tag: as
a. : to supply with an identifying marker
took a week to tag every item in the store
b.
(1) : to provide with a verbal tag
tags his speeches with poetry — Examiner
(2) : to provide with a name or epithet : label , identify , brand
one might tag this book traditional — William Nicoll
the trick is always to tag the other fellow as … left-wing — T.H.White b. 1915
study of what have perhaps loosely been tagged as guilt patterns — Abraham Edel
tag with an unfavorable word the pursuit of human desires — F.L.Mott
c. : to put a ticket on for a traffic violation
cars tagged for obstructing traffic — J.C.Ingraham
2.
a. obsolete : to fasten together : conjoin
b. : to link together especially with rhymes
3. : to attach as an addition : join , append
tagged to our name all the opprobrious epithets the English language supplies — Thomas Campbell
the general theory … tagged on at the end seems a little forced — Rayner Heppenstall
4. : to clear (a sheep) of tags of wool
5. : to follow closely and persistently : dog , tail , trail
tags his big brothers around — John Bird
a huge hammerhead shark … was tagging me — H.A.Chippendale
6. : to hold responsible for something : saddle
is tagged with the … defeat — Gordon Harrison
as
a. : to charge with a violation of the law
was tagged by … Michigan cops for driving through a stop signal — Best True Fact Detective
was tagged for … assault — Burt Woolis
b. : to charge (a pitcher) with defeat in baseball
made two more runs in the eighth to tag him with his first setback of the season
7. : to fix the price of
decided to tag the picture at $100
8.
a. : label 2
tag penicillin molecules with radioactive sulfur as tracer
b. : to distinguish (as a part of a living organism or the organism as a whole) by introducing a labeled atom
the donors' red cells became tagged by the radioactive iron atoms in the hemoglobin molecules of the red cells — R.D.Evans
intransitive verb
: to keep close : stay close at hand
first honeymoon I ever knew where a mother-in-law tagged — W.A.White
tagged after her, glancing over her shoulder — Hamilton Basso
inclined to crash parties or tag onto older groups — Elizabeth Bowen
two unarmed launches tagged behind — Joseph Millard
a spaniel tagging at their heels — Corey Ford
Synonyms: see follow
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: origin unknown
1. : a game in which one player chases the others and tries to touch one to make him it
2. : an act or instance of tagging a runner in baseball
put the tag on him as he slid into third
IV. transitive verb
( tagged ; tagged ; tagging ; tags )
1.
a. : to touch in or as if in a game of tag
runs … around the outside of the circle and tags another as he goes — Ruth McIntire
b. : to put out (a runner in baseball) by a touch with the ball or the gloved hand in which the ball is held — often used with out
tagged him out on a steal of home
2.
a. : to hit solidly : strike
tagged his opponent on the jaw twice in the first round
was almost tagged by passing cars — James Thurber
b. : to hit (a baseball) with a bat
tagged the first pitch to deep right center
3.
[partly from tag (IV) ; partly from tag (II) ]
: to choose especially for a special purpose : select , pick
peacetime equipment … would be tagged for civil defense use — R.W.Stokely
two years at the forestry school … before the Army tagged him — Nard Jones
4. : to make a hit or a run off (a pitcher) in baseball
was tagged for six hits and three runs in the second inning and lost his fourth game of the season
V. noun
: a graffito in the form of an identifying name or symbol
• tag verb
• tagger noun