Hag
Pronunciation
- IPA: /hæɡ/
- Rhymes: -æɡ
Origin 1
Middle English hagge, hegge 'demon, old woman', shortening of Old English hægtesse, hægtes ("harpy, witch"), from Proto-Germanic *hagatusjÅn (compare Saterland Frisian Häkse ("witch"), Dutch heks, German Hexe ("witch")), compounds of (1) *hagaz 'able, skilled' (compare Old Norse hagr ("handy, skillful"), Middle High German behac ("pleasurable")), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱak- (compare Sanskrit (Å›aknóti, "he can")),
2003, Vladimir Orel, entry “*xaÊ’azâ€, A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden: Brill, pages 149-50.
and (2) *tusjÅn 'witch' (compare dialectal Norwegian tysja ("fairy, she-elf")).
1987, E. C. Polomé, R. Bergmann (editor), "Althochdeutsch hag(a)zussa 'Hexe': Versuch einer neuen Etymologie", Althochdeutsch 2 (Wörter und Namen. Forschungsgeschichte), pages 1107-1112.
Full definition of hag
Noun
hag
(plural hags)- A witch, sorceress, or enchantress; a wizard.
- unknown date GoldingSilenus that old hag.
- (pejorative) An ugly old woman.
- A fury; a she-monster.
- A hagfish; an eel-like marine marsipobranch, , allied to the lamprey, with a suctorial mouth, labial appendages, and a single pair of gill openings.
- A hagdon or shearwater.
- An appearance of light and fire on a horse's mane or a man's hair.
- The fruit of the hagberry, Prunus padus.
Synonyms
- (witch or sorceress)
- (ugly old woman) See also
- (fury or she-monster)
- (eel-like marine marsipobranch) borer, hagfish, sleepmarken, slime eel, sucker
- (hagdon or shearwater)
- (appearance of light and fire on mane or hair)
- (fruit of the hagberry)
Derived terms
Verb
Origin 2
Scots hag ("to cut"); compare English hack.