From earlier sag, sagg, sack, from Middle English saggen, probably from Middle Low German sacken (“to sink, drift”), ultimately of North Germanic/Scandinavian/Old Norse origin, akin to Old Norse søkkva (“to sink”), a denasalized derivative of Proto-Germanic *sankwijaną (“to cause to sink”), related to Proto-Germanic *sinkwaną (“to sink”).
Cognate with Scots seg (“to sink”), Danish sakke (“to lag behind”), Swedish sacka (“to lag”), Icelandic sakka (“to sink”), Faroese søkka (“to sink, drop down, descend, set”), Dutch zakken (“to fall, drop, sink”), German Low German sacken (“to sink”), and German sacken (“to sink”) (from Low German).
Compare also Norwegian Nynorsk sagga (“to walk or move heavily and slowly”).
Meanings
(countable, uncountable) The state of sinking or bending; a droop.
(countable, uncountable) A depression or dip in anything.
(countable, uncountable) A place where the surface of the earth, a mountain range, a ridge, etc., sinks or droops.
Gunsight Peak north of the sag marks the southern end of the Malad Range that extends into Idaho. Complexly faulted Cambrian and Ordovician shelf sedimentary rocks are present[…] 2016 March 10, William T. Parry, Geology of Utah's Mountains, Peaks, and Plateaus: Including descriptions of cliffs, valleys, and climate history, FriesenPress, →ISBN:
a mass of igneous rock […] shown as a semicircular area of shonkinite exposed in the west wall of the sag. From the valley below, it appears as a dark cliff, perhaps 100 feet in height and a few hundred yards long. 1905, Louis Valentine Pirsson, Petrography and Geology of the Igneous Rocks of the Highwood ..., page 43:
(countable, uncountable) The difference in elevation of a wire, cable, chain or rope suspended between two consecutive points.
(countable, uncountable) The difference in height or depth between the vertex and the rim of a curved surface, specifically used for optical elements such as a mirror or lens.
(countable, uncountable) A region or spot where the skin has lost some of its elasticity and droops or hangs down.
(countable, uncountable) A person with sagging skin.
She was bossy and proud, a dreadful sag of skin and bones, and she was a devilish hard worker. 1950, Dorothy M. Johnson, A Man Called Horse; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 173:
Forms
Spelling
Features
Labels
Source
segg
alternative, dialectal
lexicographic
seg
alternative, dialectal
lexicographic
sags
Number=Plur
lexicographic
sack
alternative, obsolete
lexicographic
Translations (20)
es caimiento (state of sinking or bending) · fr flèche (difference in elevation) · bg провисванв (difference in elevation) · es caída (state of sinking or bending) · nb høydeforskjell (difference in elevation) · nl hoogteverschil (difference in elevation) · es colgamiento (state of sinking or bending) · it cedimento (state of sinking or bending) · es flecha (difference in elevation) · fi taipuminen (state of sinking or bending) · pl obniżenie (difference in elevation) · nl (het) zakken (state of sinking or bending) · pt afundamento (state of sinking or bending) · it abbassamento (difference in elevation) · fi roikkuma (difference in elevation) · fi roikkuminen (state of sinking or bending) · it colata (di vernice) (state of sinking or bending) · pt cedimento (state of sinking or bending) · bg хлътване (state of sinking or bending) · fi painuminen (state of sinking or bending)
From earlier sag, sagg, sack, from Middle English saggen, probably from Middle Low German sacken (“to sink, drift”), ultimately of North Germanic/Scandinavian/Old Norse origin, akin to Old Norse søkkva (“to sink”), a denasalized derivative of Proto-Germanic *sankwijaną (“to cause to sink”), related to Proto-Germanic *sinkwaną (“to sink”).
Cognate with Scots seg (“to sink”), Danish sakke (“to lag behind”), Swedish sacka (“to lag”), Icelandic sakka (“to sink”), Faroese søkka (“to sink, drop down, descend, set”), Dutch zakken (“to fall, drop, sink”), German Low German sacken (“to sink”), and German sacken (“to sink”) (from Low German).
Compare also Norwegian Nynorsk sagga (“to walk or move heavily and slowly”).
Meanings
To sink, in the middle, by its weight or under applied pressure, below a horizontal line or plane.
The floor of a room sags.
Her once firm bosom began to sag in her thirties.
A line or cable supported by its ends sags, even if it is tightly drawn.
(broadly) To sink, in the middle, by its weight or under applied pressure, below a horizontal line or plane. ▸ To lean, give way, or settle from a vertical position.
A building may sag one way or another.
The door sags on its hinges.
The weather became more and more threatening; the ship sagged to the leeward more than she ought. 1890, Great Britain. High Court of Justice. Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division, The Law Reports. Probate Division in the Courts of Probate and Divorce: In the Admiralty and Ecclesiastical Courts, and in the Privy Council, from Michaelmas Sittings, 1875, to 1890 (volume 5)
(figuratively) To sink, in the middle, by its weight or under applied pressure, below a horizontal line or plane. ▸ To lose firmness, elasticity, vigor, or a thriving state; to sink; to droop; to flag; to bend; to yield, as the mind or spirits, under the pressure of care, trouble, doubt, or the like; to be unsettled or unbalanced.
The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear, / Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear. c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
(intransitive, of a story, qualifier:e.g.; movie; e.g.; movie) To fail to sustain interest; to be boring.
The movie really sags after the chase scene.
To loiter in walking; to idle along; to drag or droop heavily.
When Handy had gone, Bert Barricue sagged in, unwashed, unshaven. He sat down stiffly. 1949, Dorothy M. Johnson, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 106:
(transitive) To cause to bend or give way; to load.
(informal, transitive) Senses relating to clothing ▸ To wear one's trousers, shorts, etc., so that their top is well below the waist.
He sags his pants real low.
(informal, intransitive, of trousers, qualifier:shorts, usually) Senses relating to clothing ▸ To be worn so that the top is well below the waist.
His pants were sagging low.
(Canada, informal) Senses relating to clothing ▸ To pull down someone else's pants as a prank.
nl rondhangen (to loiter in walking) · it smorzarsi (to lose firmness) · fi löntystää (to loiter in walking) · ka ჩაზნექა (to cause to bend) · uk прогина́тися (to sink) · nl plooien (to cause to bend) · it estenuarsi (to lose firmness) · uk прови́снути (to sink) · it cedere (to lose firmness) · bg провисвам (to give way from a vertical position) · de schlendern (to loiter in walking) · nl doorzakken (to sink) · ota بایلمق (to sink) · sv säcka (to sink) · uk просіда́ти (to sink) · it flettersi (to sink) · it barcollare (to loiter in walking) · ru проседа́ть (to sink) · uk провиса́ти (to sink) · nl doorhangen (to lose firmness) · fr s'affaisser (to lose firmness) · eo fleksi (to sink) · nl doen zakken (to cause to bend) · de ausleiern (to lose firmness) · fi painua (to sink) · es ahondar (to sink) · fi painua (to give way from a vertical position) · nl nalaten (to lose firmness) · uk просі́сти (to sink) · nb sægge (to wear pants low) · pt afundar (to sink) · sv ha häng (to wear pants low) · fi kallistua (to give way from a vertical position) · uk прогну́тися (to sink) · nn sægga (to wear pants low) · fi löntystellä (to loiter in walking) · bg мъкна се (to loiter in walking) · ru слоня́ться (to loiter in walking) · de durchhängen (to sink) · fr ployer (to sink) · it inclinarsi (to give way from a vertical position) · fi roikkua (to sink) · fi painua (to sink) · fi notkahtaa (to lose firmness) · de absinken (to give way from a vertical position) · sv sagga (to sink) · ka ჩახდა (to wear pants low) · eo kolapsi (to lose firmness) · fi taivuttaa (to cause to bend) · nl scheefzakken (to sink) · it deperire (to lose firmness) · mi wheoro (to sink) · nl doorhangen (to sink) · bg хлътвам (to sink) · ru просе́сть (to sink) · de einsinken (to give way from a vertical position) · nl verslappen (to lose firmness) · mi tāwharu (to sink) · fi taipua (to lose firmness) · sv sjunka (to sink) · nl slenteren (to loiter in walking) · nl treuzelen (to loiter in walking) · it flettere (to cause to bend) · pt ceder (to lose firmness) · it cedere (to sink)
sag en · NOUN · etymology 2
Meanings
(alt-of, alternative, uncountable, usually) Alternative form of saag.
The dal tarka (£5) is made from whole yellow split peas, while sag aloo (£5) brings potatoes in a rich and oily spinach puree. 2003, Charles Campion, The Rough Guide to London Restaurants, page 173: