English▸ verb
(wags, wagging, wagged)
(with reference to an animal's tail) move or cause to move rapidly to and fro: [no object] his tail began to wag
[with object] the dog went out, wagging its tail.
▪ [with object] move (an upward-pointing finger) from side to side to signify a warning or reprimand:
she wagged a finger at Elinor.
▪ [no object] (used of a tongue, jaw, or chin, as representing a person) talk, especially in order to gossip or spread rumors:
this is a small island, and tongues are beginning to wag.
▸ noun a single rapid movement from side to side:
a chirpy wag of the head.
– ORIGIN Middle English (as a verb): from the Germanic base of Old English wagian ‘to sway’.