shag 1
— shaglike , adj.
/shag/ , n. , v. , shagged, shagging .
n.
1. rough, matted hair, wool, or the like.
2. a mass of this.
3. a hairdo in which hair is cut in slightly uneven, overlapping layers downward from the crown, sometimes with the hair at the front and back hairlines left longer or wispier than the rest.
4. a cloth with a nap, as of silk or a heavy or rough woolen fabric.
5. a rug or carpet with a thick, shaggy pile.
6. a coarse tobacco cut into fine shreds.
v.t. , v.i.
7. to make or become rough or shaggy.
[ bef. 1050; OE sceacga (wooly) hair (not recorded in ME); c. ON skegg beard; akin to SHAW ]
shag 2
/shag/ , n.
1. a small cormorant, Phalacrocorax aristotelis, of European coasts.
2. any of several small cormorants of the Southern Hemisphere.
[ 1560-70; perh. special use of SHAG 1 , applied first to bird's crest ]
shag 3
/shag/ , v. , shagged, shagging , n.
v.i.
1. to dance a step with a vigorous hopping on each foot.
n.
2. this dance step.
[ 1350-1400; perh. var. of SHOG ]
shag 4
/shag/ , v.t., shagged, shagging .
1. to chase or follow after; pursue.
2. to go after and bring back; fetch.
3. Baseball. to retrieve and throw back (fly balls) in batting practice.
4. shag ass , Slang ( vulgar ). to depart, esp. hurriedly; get going.
[ 1930-35; orig. uncert.; see SHACK 2 ]