shag¹ (shăg)
n.

1. A tangle or mass, especially of rough matted hair.
2. 1. A coarse long nap, as on a woolen cloth.
   2. Cloth having such a nap.
3. A rug with a thick rough pile.
4. Coarse shredded tobacco.

tr.v., shagged, shag·ging, shags.
To make shaggy; roughen.

[Middle English *shagge, from Old English sceacga, matted hair.]

shag² (shăg)
n.
A dance step of the 1930s consisting of a hop on each foot in turn.

intr.v., shagged, shag·ging, shags.
To perform or execute this dance.

[Origin unknown.]

shag³ (shăg)
n.
Either of two marine birds (Phalacrocorax aristotelis or P. punctatus) of Europe and North Africa, related to the cormorant.

[Perhaps from its shaggy crest.]

shag⁴ (shăg)
tr.v., shagged, shag·ging, shags.

1. To chase and bring back; fetch.
2. Baseball. To chase and catch (fly balls) in practice.

[Perhaps from obsolete shag, to shake.]

shag⁵ (shăg)

v. Chiefly British Vulgar Slang, shagged, shag·ging, shags.

v.tr.
To engage in sexual intercourse with.

v.intr.
To engage in sexual intercourse.

[Perhaps from obsolete shag, to shake, wiggle.]

---

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

---