Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “shag” come from?

Shag comes from Middle English schaggen, from Old English sċeacga, from Proto-Germanic skaggiją, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kek-.

shag (English): Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc;...

Definitions

  1. Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc;...

Ancestry of “shag”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishshowerA brief fall of precipitation; A device for...
2English-erA person or thing that does an action indicated...
3Middle English-eragentive suffix; agent noun suffix
4Old French-erAlternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;...
5Latin-āre—
6Proto-Italic-āōForms primarily denominative verbs
7Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
8Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
10Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “shag”

  • shaggy
  • shagbark
  • shagginess
  • shaggily
  • shagger
  • shagpile
  • shaggable
  • beshagged
  • shagadelic
  • shagtastic
  • sheepshagger
  • shagless
  • gangshag
  • shagaholic
  • shagfest
  • unshaggable
  • shaggability
  • sjekkie
  • shag
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