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Wag vs Rag - What's the difference?

wag | rag |

As verbs the difference between wag and rag

is that wag is to swing from side to side, especially of an animal's tail while rag is to become tattered.

As nouns the difference between wag and rag

is that wag is an oscillating movement while rag is tattered clothes.

wag

English

Verb

  • To swing from side to side, especially of an animal's tail
  • * Shakespeare
    • No discerner durst wag his tongue in censure.
  • * Bible, Jer. xviii. 16
    • Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.
  • (UK, Australia, slang) To play truant from school.
  • * 1848 , Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, xxii
    • "My misfortunes all began in wagging,'' Sir; but what could I do, exceptin' ''wag''?" "Excepting what?" said Mr. Carker. "''Wag,'' Sir. ''Wagging'' from school." "Do you mean pretending to go there, and not going?" said Mr. Carker. "Yes, Sir, that's ''wagging, Sir."
  • * 1901 , William Sylvester Walker, In the Blood, i. 13
    • They had "wagged it" from school, as they termed it, which..meant truancy in all its forms.
  • (obsolete) To be in action or motion; to move; to get along; to progress; to stir.
  • * Shakespeare
    • "Thus we may see," quoth he, "how the world wags ."
  • (obsolete) To go; to depart.
  • * Shakespeare
    • I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag .

    Derived terms

    * (to not go to school) play the wag; hop the wag; wag it * to finger-wag

    See also

    * waggle (frequentative) * wiggle

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An oscillating movement.
    • The wag of my dog's tail expresses happiness.
  • A witty person.

    • See also

    * skivitis

    References

    * The Oxford English Dictionary, (1989) Accessed 23 Feb. 2006. * Jonathon Green, "wag," The Cassell Dictionary of Slang, (1998) p. 1257.

    Anagrams

    * ----

    rag

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) . Cognate with Swedish ragg.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (in the plural) Tattered clothes.
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars) (Dryden)
    • Virtue, though in rags , will keep me warm.
  • A piece of old cloth; a tattered piece of cloth; a shred, a tatter.
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars) (Milton)
    • Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers, tossed, / And fluttered into rags .
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars) (Fuller)
    • Not having otherwise any rag of legality to cover the shame of their cruelty.
  • A shabby, beggarly fellow; a ragamuffin.
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars) (Ben Jonson)
    • The other zealous rag is the compositor.
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars) (Spenser)
    • Upon the proclamation, they all came in, both tag and rag .
  • A ragged edge in metalworking.
  • (nautical, slang) A sail, or any piece of canvas.
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars) (Lowell)
    • Our ship was a clipper with every rag set.
  • (slang, pejorative) A newspaper, magazine.
  • (rfc-sense) (poker slang) A card that appears to help no one.
  • (rfc-sense) (poker slang) A low card.
    • Derived terms
    * on the rag * lose one's rag * ragwort * smell of an oily rag

    Verb

    (ragg)
  • To become tattered.
    • (Webster 1913)

    Etymology 2

    origin; perhaps the same word as Etymology 1, above.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A coarse kind of rock, somewhat cellular in texture; ragstone.
  • * 2003 , (Peter Ackroyd), The Clerkenwell Tales , page 1:
    • the three walls around the garden, each one of thirty-three feet, were built out of three layers of stone — pebble stone, flint and rag stone.

    Verb

    (ragg)
  • To break (ore) into lumps for sorting.
  • To cut or dress roughly, as a grindstone.

    • Etymology 3

    Origin uncertain.

    Verb

    (ragg)
  • To scold or rail at; to rate; to tease; to torment; to banter.
  • To drive a car or another vehicle in a hard, fast or unsympathetic manner.
  • To tease or torment, especially at a university; to bully, to haze.
    • Derived terms
    * rag the puck * rag on

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (dated) A prank or practical joke.
  • (UK, Ireland) A society run by university students for the purpose of charitable fundraising.

    • Derived terms

    * rag day * rag week

    Etymology 4

    Perhaps from (ragged). Compare later (ragtime).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete, US) An informal dance party featuring music played by African-American string bands.
  • A ragtime song, dance or piece of music.

    • Anagrams

    *

    References

    * Weisenberg, Michael (2000) The Official Dictionary of Poker. MGI/Mike Caro University. ISBN 978-1880069523 ----