Stag

Pronunciation

• IPA: /stæɡ/
• Rhymes: -æɡ

Alternative forms

• steg dialectal, staig Scotland, stagg, stagge obsolete

Origin

From Middle English steg, stagge, from Old English stagga, stacga ("a stag") and Old Norse steggi, steggr ("a male animal"), both from Proto-Germanic *staggijô, *staggijaz ("male, male deer, porcupine"), from Proto-Indo-European *stegʰ-, *stengʰ- ("to sting; rod, blade; sharp, stiff"). Cognate with Icelandic steggi, steggur ("stag") and Albanian shtagë ("long stick, pole, schaft"). Related to staggard, staggon.

Full definition of stag

Noun

1. An adult male deer.
2. A colt, or filly.
3. (by extension, obsolete) A romping girl.
4. An improperly or late castrated bull or ram – called also a bull seg. See the Note under ox.
5. An outside irregular dealer in stocks, who is not a member of the exchange.
6. One who applies for the allotment of shares in new projects, with a view to sell immediately at a premium, and not to hold the stock.
7. The European wren, .
8. (usually attributive) An unmarried male, a bachelor; a male not accompanying a female at a social event.
9. A social event for males held in honor of a groom on the eve of his wedding, attended by male friends of the groom, sometimes a fund-raiser.The stag will be held in the hotel's ballroom

Synonyms

• (social event) bachelor party (US), stag do (UK informal), stag party

Derived terms

• stag beetle
• stag do
• stag night
• stag party

Verb

1. (intransitive, British) To act as a "stag", an irregular dealer in stocks.
2. (transitive) To watch; to dog, or keep track of.

Adverb

1. Of a man, attending a formal social function without a date.My brother went stag to prom because he couldn't find a date.

Anagrams

• gast
• gats
• tags