jag (2) — ODE

jag2 /dʒaɡ

▸ noun

1 informal mainly North American English a bout of unrestrained or excessive indulgence in alcohol or drugs, or in a particular emotion or activity:

a thirty-five minute crying jag.

2 dialect a bundle:

a jag of hay.

– ORIGIN late 16th century (in jag (sense 2 of the noun)2): of unknown origin. In the late 18th century the sense was ‘portion, quantity’, later ‘as much alcohol as one can hold’, hence ‘a binge’. jag (sense 1 of the noun)2 dates from the early 20th century.