hag

views updated Jun 11 2018

hag¹ / hag/ • n. 1. a witch, esp. one in the form of an ugly old woman (often used as a term of disparagement for a woman): a fat old hag in a dirty apron. 2. short for hagfish.DERIVATIVES: hag·gish adj.hag² • n. Scot. & N. English 1. (also peat hag) an overhang of peat. 2. a soft place on a moor or a firm place in a bog.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

hag

views updated Jun 11 2018

hag2 (Sc. and north.) †gap, chasm XIII; piece of soft bog XVII; spot of firmer ground in a peat bog XIX. — ON. *haggw-, hǫgg gap, breach, orig. cutting blow (whence the Sc. and north. Eng. senses ‘cutting, hewing’, ‘cut wood’), f. *haggwa, hǫggva HEW.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

hag

views updated May 18 2018

hag a witch, especially one in the form of an ugly old woman. The word is Middle English, and is perhaps from an Old English word related to Dutch heks and German Hexe ‘witch’.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES

hag

views updated May 21 2018

hag A parcel of wood that has been marked off for cutting. See also cant and coupe.

A Dictionary of Ecology MICHAEL ALLABY

hag

views updated Jun 08 2018

hag A parcel of wood that has been marked off for cutting. See also CANT and COUPE.

A Dictionary of Plant Sciences MICHAEL ALLABY

hag

views updated May 23 2018

hag1 female evil spirit XIII; repulsive old woman XIV(?). ME. hegge, hagge; rare before XVI. perh. shortening of OE. hægtesse, hegtes fury, witch = MDu. haghetisse (Du. hecse), OHG. hagazissa (G. hexe), of unkn. orig.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD