sagn.1
/saɡ/, U.S. /sæɡ/ Now dialect.
= sedge n.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > sedges
starc1300
carexa1398
float-grassc1440
red sedge1480
sag1531
pry grassa1600
flea-grass1670
star-grass1782
sedge1785
sea sedge1796
sharp-pry-grass1803
blue star grass1807
whip-grass1814
flea-sedge1816
saw-grass1822
mud rush1824
tight-locka1825
nut grass1830
razor grass1834
twig-rush1836
nut rush1843
sand grass1856
mud sedge1859
niggerhead1859
nutsedge1861
pingao1867
sword-rush1875
tupak-grass1884
tussock-sedge1884
sennegrass1897
nigger's-head1921
1531 Lett. & Papers Henry VIII V. 184 Payment to James Hole for sagge.
1531 Lett. & Papers Henry VIII V. 186 Paide to James Hole, of Collam, for saggde for the brykmakrs..for savyng of the brykkes. Paide to Mychell Bynde for reede for the saide brykmakers.
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Flags, sags, or reeds growing by the water side.
1653 T. Barker Art of Angling 9 Leave about a yard, either to tye a bunch of Sags, or a Bladder, to Boy up the Fish.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iv. iv. 299/1 A Pond or pitt of water surrounded with Reeds and Sagges Vert.
1893 P. H. Emerson On Eng. Lagoons 118 They say eels are hid up this weather..but these weren't... I think they must have worked out of the sags (hovers).
Compounds
C1. attributive and in other combinations, as sag-bed, sag-bottomed, sag-seated;
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > marsh, bog, or swamp > [noun] > with reeds
reesk1458
juncary1613
sag-bed1672
tule marsh1850
tule swamp1883
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > chair > [adjective] > types of chair
caned1696
rush-bottomed1696
rush-bottom1729
roundabout chair1741
leather-bottomed1783
stick-back1783
poker-backed1830
flag-bottomed1840
claw-footed1858
seatless1871
cane-bottomed1877
cane-seated1881
sag-seated1890
sit-up1891
slat-back1891
sag-bottomed1893
spindle-back1896
shield-back1897
Carver1902
basket-bodied1903
panel-back1904
Cromwellian1905
hooped-back1906
saddle-backed1910
hard-arsed1933
sling-back1948
X-frame1955
hard-arse1964
1672 W. Hughes Amer. Physitian 28 Like those Sag-beds which grow many together in some..boggy places in England.
1735 W. Somervile Chace iv. 396 Ah! on that yielding Sag-bed, see, once more His Seal I view.
1890 J. D. Robertson Gloss. Words County of Gloucester Sag-seated chair, a rush-bottomed chair.
1893 J. Salisbury Gloss. Words S.E. Worcs. App. Sags, rushes; used for the seats of chairs, such chairs being called ‘sag-bottomed chairs’.
C2. † sag-spear n. Obsolete ? a ‘spear’ or stalk of sedge.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > representations of vegetation > [noun] > other vegetation
pease ricea1325
garbc1460
gourd1513
sengreenc1550
orme1688
sag-spear1688
sedge1688
grain-tree1780
pea-rice1780
scrog1780
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iv. v. 310/2 On a crowne three sagge-speares in Triangle O. tyed together with a Rubin G. the ends extended.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1909; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
sagn.2
/saɡ/, U.S. /sæɡ/ The action of sagging.
1. Nautical. Movement or tendency to leeward.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > [noun] > course > deviation or drift
sag1589
leeway1669
drift1671
driftway1721
leeward-way1727
sagging1769
driftage1862
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [noun] > ability to answer helm > tendency to go off course
sag1589
weather-helm1691
griping1769
slackness1877
lee-helm1883
weathercocking1952
1589 W. Borough in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations ii. 458 It is very necessarie that you doe note at the ende of euery 4. glasses, what way the shippe hath made..and howe her way hath bene through the water, considering withall for the sagge of the sea, to leewards, accordingly as you shall finde it growen.
1882 Daily Tel. 2 Sept. (Casell) Shoving through it very slowly, with a surprising sag to leeward.
2. In a rope, wire, etc. supported at two points: The dip below the horizontal line, due to its weight; the perpendicular distance from its lowest point to the straight line between the points of support.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > [noun] > and supported at two points > distance below horizontal
sag1861
1861 Ann. Reg. 73 The ‘sag’ or droop of the cable from a straight line is 12 feet.
1889 W. H. Preece & J. Maier Telephone 136 A consideration which is of the highest importance for telephonic networks of wire is the length of the sag, or dip, of the wires between two supports.
1892 C. T. Dent et al. Mountaineering (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) iv. 104 The rope..should stretch from one waistloop to the next without any sag at all.
3.
a. A sinking or subsidence; quasi-concrete a place where the surface has subsided, a depression.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hollow or depression > [noun]
pathOE
slackc1400
navela1425
trough1513
nook1555
falling1565
swale1584
hella1653
depression1665
holl1701
sag1727
dip1783
recession1799
holler1845
sike1859
sitch1888
sulcus1901
1727 in Amer. Speech (1940) 15 387/1 Thence along the North Side of the Mountains to a Corner Several Saplins by a Sagg.
1850 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1849: Agric. 443 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (31st Congr., 1st Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. 20, Pt. 2) VI Strawberries are met with..on the edges of ‘sloughs’ or ‘saggs’.
1872 C. King Mountaineering in Sierra Nevada viii. 167 A gray canopy of cloud which stretched from wall to wall, hanging down here and there in deep blue sags.
1874 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 324 To cross with pipes a ‘sag’ in the divide 280 feet deep and..eight miles wide from one crest to the other.
1888 ‘P. Cushing’ Blacksmith of Voe I. ii. 61 There was a deep sag in the seat, which, however, added to the comfort of sitting in it.
1892 C. Lapworth in Proc. Geog. Soc. 689 Where the great continental sag sinks below the ocean level.
b. figurative.
ΚΠ
1868 W. James Let. 15 May in R. B. Perry Thought & Char. W. James (1935) I. 512 Such an event rather dislocates my mind from its habitual ‘sag’ in contemplating the world.
1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart iii. i. 323 Behind the opaqueness of her features control permitted no sag of tiredness.
4. Commerce. A decline in price, in a business, or in a programme of development.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > fluctuation in price > [noun] > decline in prices
fall1551
falling1571
sag1891
rolling back1942
turnback1977
society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun] > political economy > states or trends of the economy
inflation1821
economic cycle1832
recovery1843
downdraught1852
perfect competition1853
downturn1858
softness1872
slump1888
downtrend1890
sag1891
under-consumption1895
recession1905
downdrift1906
economic recession1908
air pocket1913
stickiness1913
trough1916
deflation1920
downswing1922
slowdown1922
scissors1924
scissors crisis1925
uptrend1926
reflation1932
depresh1933
upswing1934
stagnation1938
countercycle1944
fiscal cliff1957
turn-down1957
stagflation1965
soft landing1973
slumpflation1974
downer1976
1891 Daily News 4 Mar. 2/2 In the American market there is a slight but general ‘sag’.
1897 E. Hough Story of Cowboy 334 Then in time came..the ‘sag’ in the cattle business.
1946 Sun (Baltimore) 20 Aug. 8/2 (heading) The sag in the housing program.
a1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1975) I. 555 The Chancellor had cut back local-authority spending on mortgages... In that case, I said, he must permit us to use public-sector building to make up for the sag.
Compounds
attributive and in other combinations.
Sagbag n. the proprietary name of an informal chair consisting of a large bag filled with polystyrene granules which accommodates itself to the form of the sitter.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > support or rest > [noun] > cushion > floor cushion
boss1694
floor cushion1839
puff1877
zabuton1879
pouf1884
beanbag1969
Sagbag1974
1974 Observer 13 Jan. 23/6 (caption) Polystyrene sagbag in various colours of canvas..from..Habitat.
1974 Trade Marks Jrnl. 18 Dec. 2520/2 Sagbag... Furniture; chairs and settees: seats and seating…cushions (not for medical or surgical purposes);..Habitat Designs Limited, Hithercroft Road, Wallingford, Berkshire; Merchants.
1978 Evening Standard 28 Apr. 18/4 June Mendoza's picture of La Rippon, shoeless in a denim jump-suit and reclining fetchingly in a purplish sag-bag.
sagbag n.
sagbend n. the curved stretch of pipe below the point of inflection in the S-shaped length of pipeline as it is lowered on to the sea bed from a barge (cf. overbend n.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > oil and natural gas recovery equipment > [noun] > pipe-line > specific stretch of
overbend1969
sagbend1969
1969 Preprints 1st Ann. Offshore Technol. Conf. II. 37/2 To prevent excessive bending in the sag bend a straight stinger must discharge the pipe very near to the bottom.
1975 Petroleum Rev. 29 309/1 A pipe tensioning system has been provided which will avoid buckles in the sagbend.
sag pond n. a pond whose basin is the result of earth movement associated with a fault.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > lake > pond > [noun] > other
brick pond1735
sag pond1933
1933 Calif. Jrnl. Mines & Geol. 29 197 Numerous little water-holding depressions known as sag ponds mark the site of local subsidences.
1974 Gribbin & Plagemann Jupiter Effect x. 114 And yet in the San Francisco Peninsula, where memories of 1906 should prompt some caution, lines of so-called sag ponds, which geologists use as a clear indicator of the fault line, have been filled in to make building land!
sag wagon n. Cycling (see quot. 1961); also transferred.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor lorry, truck, or van > [noun] > van > following cycle race
sag wagon1961
1961 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 5) II. 1257/1 Sag-wagon, a van that, following a [cycle] race, picks up exhausted riders.
1963 Times 6 June 5/7 When, later, Selaru had gear trouble they both gave up the struggle for the solace of a sag waggon.
1977 C. McFadden Serial (1978) xlvii. 102/2 You wanna come along in the bus in case I need a sag wagon?
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1909; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† sagadj.
Obsolete. rare.
Hanging or sagging down. Also in combination sag-bellied.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > [adjective] > hanging down > drooping or hanging limply
droop?1507
flagging1540
sag1541
lolling1567
flaggy1576
fagged1578
flag1591
drooping1600
slouching1611
emarcid1661
flaggish1669
slouchy1693
tangly1812
sunken1823
adroop1833
saggy1853
loppy1855
floppy1858
drooped1873
flippy-floppy1905
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > front > belly or abdomen > [adjective] > types of
great-wombedc1325
wombedc1325
big-bellied?c1475
gorbellieda1529
tunnisha1529
bellieda1533
gorbelly1532
tun-bellied1551
out-bellied1570
paunch-bellied1586
paunchyc1586
big-bellied1592
round-bellied1606
gutty1607
tun-gutted1607
ventripotent1611
swag-bellieda1616
tun-grown1628
bottle-bellied1646
pot-bellied1647
belly-mountained1654
pauncheda1657
sag-bellied1665
barrel-bellied1694
ventricous1702
poke pudding1705
paunch-gutted1726
pot-gutted1731
paunchfula1763
pottle-bellied1777
tunnified1806
tun-likea1813
shad-bellied1832
ventricose1843
bow-windowed1849
bloated-bellied1871
barrel-stomached1884
stomachy1888
well-stomached1896
jelly-bellied1899
narrow-gutted1903
pus-gutted1915
great-stomached1944
1541 Schole House of Women sig. Biv Put me two bones, in a bagge..; That done, holde it somwhat sagge Shake it also, that it maye wagge.
1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. K 5 Then..He..eates the sagge And well bestrutted Bees sweet bagge.
1665 J. Ogilby Fables of Æsop Paraphras'd (rev. ed.) lxxxii. 208 An old Sag-bellied Toad.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1909; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
sagv.
/saɡ/, U.S. /sæɡ/ 1. in extended use.1888 W. E. Henley Bk. Verses 152 The sky saggs low with convoluted cloud.
a. intransitive. To sink or subside gradually, by weight or pressure.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > move downwards [verb (intransitive)] > sink > under weight or pressure
sagc1425
swag1630
c1425 Cast. Persev. 1294 in Macro Plays 116 Mankynne is soylyd & saggyd in synne!
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 440/2 Saggyn or sallyn [? read satlyn] (satelyn, P., stytlyn, S.), basso.
1599 A. M. tr. O. Gaebelkhover Bk. Physicke 96/1 Quilte the bagge least the herbes sacke the one vppon the other.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 492 The Cherrie tree wood is firme and fast; the Elme and the Ash are tough; howbeit, they will soone settle downward and sag, being charged with any weight, but bend they will before they break.
1634 J. Levett Ordering of Bees 19 Leaving a shoulder on the inside to stay it and this is good to keep the crowne of Hives from sagging downewards.
1881 C. Darwin Form. Veg. Mould iv. 215 We see in these three sections..that the old pavements have sunk or sagged considerably.
1889 Nature 5 Dec. 103 The crust of the earth must have sagged foot by foot as additional feet of burdens were laid upon it.
b. Of a part of the body (occasionally of a person): To droop; to sink or hang down loosely.
ΘΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > hang or be suspended [verb (intransitive)] > hang down > loosely
loll1362
sag1526
flag1540
swag1630
blouse1938
1526 W. Bonde Rosary sig. Ciiii Thy blessed body, whiche synkyng downe, dyde sagge and hange be the crosse.
1563 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments 556/1 At laste his feruour began to grow cold & faint, and his handes sagged downewarde.
a1565 T. Chaloner tr. Boethius De Consolatione Philosophie i. i. 12 in Queen Elizabeth I Englishings (1899) App. 150 My skynne do sagg in wrinkles slacke, my fflaggy lymbes do tremble.
1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) xi. f. 138 Apollo could not suffer well his foolish eares too keepe Theyr humaine shape, but drew them wyde, & made them long & deepe. And filld them full of whytish heares, and made them downe too sag.
1592 T. Nashe Pierce Penilesse (Brit. Libr. copy) sig. D2 v Cheekes that sagge like a womans dugges ouer his Chin-bone.
a1600 T. Deloney Thomas of Reading (1612) x. sig. Gijv It is sir, your ill favoured great nose, that hangs sagging so loathsomly to your lippes.
1816 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. 41 144 O could this wrinkled hand unlearn to sag I'd go; and from this crosier shake the union flag.
1849 H. W. Longfellow Kavanagh xxi. 132 Except little Alfred, who was tired and cross, and sat sleepy and sagging on his father's knee.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 5 June 2/1 The head slowly sagged down on to the cushions.
c. ‘To hang down on one side’ (Phillips, ed. Kersey 1706). Of a garment: To hang unevenly, to slip out of position. Now chiefly dialect and U.S. Hence occasionally of a person: †To wear ‘sagging’ clothes, to be dressed untidily.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [verb (intransitive)] > hang or sit in specific way
poughc1325
frouncec1400
poke?a1425
to hang by geometry1584
sag1592
bag1824
bustle1824
cascade1861
flare1899
pouch1901
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [verb (intransitive)] > in specific way > types of
to cover (one's head)c1340
scrub1590
wimple1591
sag1592
to go thina1610
to be covered1611
rustlea1616
to keep on1621
veil1714
to shake (have) a cloth in the wind1834
smock-frock1840
pad1873
tighten1896
tight-lace1898
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > hang or be suspended [verb (intransitive)] > hang down > unevenly
sag1592
shag1596
1592 T. Nashe Pierce Penilesse (Brit. Libr. copy) sig. B2 v Sir Rowland Russet-coat, their dad, goes sagging euerie day in his round gascoynes of white cotton, and hath much a doo..to keepe his vnthrift elbowes in reparations.
1592 T. Nashe Pierce Penilesse (Brit. Libr. copy) sig. B3 v A paire of trunke slops, sagging down like a Shoomaker's wallet.
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique i. viii. 32 If the croisant or bodie of the moone hang sagging.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Glacer,..to flesh-bast; or stitch downe the lyning of a garment thereby to keepe it from sagging.
1624 Bp. J. Hall True Peace-maker 24 The girdle of whose equitie saggs downe on that side where the purse hangs.
1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 29 To prevent a Door from sagging, or sinking at the fore corner.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 193 A load of hay or corn that is badly put on the waggon, leaning on one side, and, as it is termed, top-heavy, is said to sag.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (at cited word) Rebecca's made my Sunda' goun sag sorely.
1878 in G. P. Lathrop Masque of Poets 156 His coat is green and sags.
1883 E. C. Rollins New Eng. Bygones (new ed.) 190 It [the bridge] sags to one side.
1885 Harper's Mag. May 867/1 The..gates sag apart.
1903 J. Fox Little Shepherd 345 The gate sagged on its hinges.
d. To bend or curve downwards in the middle, from its own weight or superincumbent pressure. Said, e.g., of a rope supported at two points, of a beam, plank, etc. Nautical opposed to hog v.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > curved surface > form curved surface [verb (intransitive)] > curve concavely
valleya1552
sag1777
cup1830
hollow1862
saucer1925
the world > space > shape > curvature > types of curvature > [verb (intransitive)] > downwards > in the middle
sag1777
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > hang or be suspended [verb (intransitive)] > hang down > hang from two points
sag1777
festoon1789
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > move downwards [verb (intransitive)] > sink > under weight or pressure > in the middle
sag1777
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [verb (intransitive)] > droop at ends or in middle
camber1758
hog1777
sag1777
1777 W. Hutchinson Treat. Pract. Seamanship 13 And that their bottoms not only hog upwards, but sag (or curve) downwards, to dangerous and fatal degrees.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. ii. iii. 546 The beam by its own gravity..would have a tendency to sag or bend in the middle.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. ii. iii. 546 When the rafters are of such length that they would be liable of themselves to sag down, supports aa are introduced at the points where such failures would occur.
1849 W. Raynbird & H. Raynbird On Agric. Suffolk vi. 298 Sag—to fail or give way from weakness of itself, or overloaded, as the bars of a gate, beams, rafters, &c.
1859 J. G. Whittier Proph. Sam. Sewall 102 Great beams sag from the ceiling low.
1883 R. Haldane Workshop Receipts 2nd Ser. 290/1 The rod will lose its straightness, first sagging in the middle, then dropping.
1885 E. S. Morse Japanese Homes (1886) i. 27 One..comes to wonder why the whole ceiling does not sag.
e. To bulge (out); to belly in. Chiefly dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > projection or prominence > protuberance or rounded projection > be or become protuberant [verb (intransitive)]
struta1300
bouge1398
embossc1430
bagc1440
bossc1449
bunch1495
bump1566
boin1567
protuberate1578
pagglea1592
bulch1611
extuberate1623
belly1627
heave1629
bulge1679
swell1679
bud1684
pod1806
bilge1849–52
sag1853
knucklec1862
poocha1903
1853 G. J. Cayley Las Alforjas II. 151 It sagged in like a bellying sail.
1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 145 Sagg'd out, bulged out at the side, as a bowing wall.
1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous 108 The other half come up sagging full o' big uns.
2.
a. To decline to a lower level, through lack of strength or effort. Chiefly figurative. (Common in U.S.)
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > move downwards [verb (intransitive)] > sink > from lack of strength or effort
sag1508
sink1843
1508 J. Fisher Treat. Penyt. Psalmes sig. hh.iiijv If the helpe of his grace be not redy at all seasons we muste nedes sagge & bowe.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. iii. 10 The minde I sway by, and the heart I beare, Shall neuer sagge with doubt, nor shake with feare. View more context for this quotation
1891 Harper's Mag. Sept. 644/1 Is she sagging towards Realism or rising towards Idealism?
1902 Gildersleeve in Amer. Jrnl. Philol. 23 137 Professor Lawton..says that Parmenides sags in his flight.
b. dialect. ‘To decline in health; to begin to show signs of old age’ ( Eng. Dial. Dict.).
ΚΠ
1784 J. Cullum Hist. & Antiq. Hawsted in Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica No. 23. 173 He begins to sag. To decline in his health.
1893 F. B. Zincke Wherstead: Some Materials Hist. (ed. 2) 261 For anything to be over-poised, or metaphorically to decline in health, is to ‘sag’.
c. Commerce. To decline in price. Also with down, away, off.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > deal in stocks and shares [verb (intransitive)] > state of market or prices > fall or rise (of prices)
to look downwards1796
to look downward1801
to look down1808
rally1826
sag1870
give way1883
slump1888
firm1896
move1904
spurt1931
perform1933
dip1956
to pull back1966
to go in the tank1974
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > fluctuation in price > [verb (intransitive)] > decline in price or fall
fall?1532
to come down1832
settle1868
sag1870
recede1883
shorten1884
ease1900
1870 W. W. Fowler Ten Years in Wall St. xxv. 393 The price grew firmer when two or three men were observed selling quietly large amounts, and then the price sagged to 250.
1887 Sc. Leader 21 June 5 The tone on the Chicago market was dull and weak, with a ‘sagging’ tendency.
1892 Daily News 11 May 3/5 Wheat..further sagged down owing to the increase in amount on passage.
1903 Westm. Gaz. 29 Aug. 7/1 With lack of support the market has sagged away, and closes some 27s. 6d. below last week's values.
1905 Westm. Gaz. 1 June 9/1 There are appreciable advances on the share figures of three months ago on those investments which sagged through last year's bad balance-sheets.
3. To drag oneself along wearily or feebly. Also U.S. (see quot. 1880).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > move or go slowly [verb (intransitive)] > slowly or wearily
sag1573
trail1864
1573 T. Twyne tr. Virgil in T. Phaer & T. Twyne tr. Virgil Whole .xii. Bks. Æneidos x. E e j b Encounter them at land Whilest fearful they come forth, and their first steps do sag in sand.
1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion xvi. 250 This said, the aged Steed sagd sadly on alone.
1880 Webster's Suppl. Sag, to loiter in walking; to idle along; to drag or droop heavily.
1897 ‘O. Rhoscomyl’ For White Rose Arno (U.K. ed.) 165 ‘And I am not more than a third of the way along’, said he to himself, as the horse sagged slower at every stride.
4. † b. transferred. To drift, deviate insensibly (into, from). Obsolete.
a. Nautical. Of a ship or boat: To drift, be carried out of the intended course. Chiefly in the phrase to sag to leeward.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > direct or manage ship [verb (intransitive)] > head in a certain course or direction > drop away from direct course
to fall off1569
yaw1584
sag1633
bag1836
to break off1867
1633 T. James Strange Voy. 93 [In tacking] we did sagge upon the maine rand of Ice.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine (1780) Sagging to leeward, the movement by which a ship makes a considerable lee-way, or is driven far to leeward of the course whereon she apparently sails. It is generally expressed of heavy-sailing vessels.
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship II. 256* To Sag to leeward, to make considerable lee-way.
1849 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 66 726 The want of actual headway making the Indiaman sag dead away to leeward.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. xxix. 287 McGary hung upon his oar, and the boat, slowly but noiselessly sagging ahead.
1892 R. Kipling Barrack-room Ballads 206 We're sagging south on the Long Trail.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > change of direction of movement > change direction of movement [verb (intransitive)] > diverge from course
bowa1000
swervec1330
wrya1350
crookc1380
to turn asidea1382
depart1393
decline14..
wryc1400
divert1430
desvoy1481
wave1548
digress1552
prevaricate1582
yaw1584
to turn off1605
to come off1626
deviate1635
sag1639
to flinch out1642
deflect1646
de-err1657
break1678
verge1693
sheera1704
to break off1725
lean1894
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > reversal of or forsaking one's will or purpose > reverse or abandon one's purpose [verb (intransitive)] > drift into or from
sag1639
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre iv. xix. 202 We see elective States in Christendome, though bound with the straitest laws, often sagge aside into schismes and factions.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ix. 142 Yet such [spheres] as are excentricall can never observe equall distance in their motion, but will sagg aside to grind, and grate one the other.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) London 224 No Hospital is tyed with better or stricter laws, that it may not Sagg from the intention of the Founder.
5. transitive in causative senses.† a. [ < sense 4] Of a current at sea: To cause to ‘sag’ or drift; to carry out of the intended course. Obsolete.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > move with current of air or water [verb (transitive)] > of current: cause to drift
sag1635
1635 in M. Christy Voy. L. Foxe & T. James (1894) I. 191 After he was loos'd he was sagged into the Bay.
a1665 K. Digby Jrnl. Voy. to Mediterranean (1868) 77 The current sagged me into the bay deeper towardes the eastward.
b. [ < sense 1d] To cause to bend downwards in the middle.
ΘΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > types of curvature > [verb (transitive)] > curve downwards in middle
sag1755
saddle1791
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. To Sag, v.a. To load; to burthen.
1777 W. Hutchinson Treat. Pract. Seamanship 13 Their bottoms were thus sagged down by the cargoes.
1777 W. Hutchinson Treat. Pract. Seamanship 13 Sagged down~wards six inches by her cargo.
1869 E. J. Reed Shipbuilding v. 93 The ultimate measures of the strengths of the ships to resist a strain tending to hog or sag, or break them across is as 5 : 4.
1892 C. Lapworth in Proc. Geogr. Soc. 689 The surface of this American arch is sagged downwards in the middle into a central depression which lies between two long marginal plateaux.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 5 July 8/3 The vessel will first be ‘sagged’ by being hung by the head and the stern only from two platforms, one at each end.
6. intransitive and transitive. To play truant (from). Liverpool local.
ΚΠ
1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren xvii. 372 Sagging. This is definitely the prevailing term [for playing truant] amongst delinquents in all parts of Liverpool.
1965 Woman 28 Aug. 8 I re-visit childhood haunts in Liverpool, meet the next generation in the Cathedral grounds where we used to ‘sag’—that is, play truant.
1966 F. Shaw et al. Lern Yerself Scouse 45 I'm saggin skewl, I am playing truant.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1909; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.11531
n.21589
adj.1541
v.c1425