tagn.1
/taɡ/, U.S. /tæɡ/ 1. Originally, one of the narrow, often pointed, laciniæ or pendent pieces made by slashing the skirt of a garment; hence, any hanging ragged or torn piece; also, any end or rag of ribbon or the like.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > hanging or overlapping part
lapc897
tippetc1300
tag1402
labey1497
toque1505
flip-flap1529
flap1530
slipe1540
lambeau1562
lappet1573
flappet?1578
fall-down?1796
wrap-over1935
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > ragged or torn piece
tatter-wagc1400
tag1402
tatter1402
flake1608
tatter-wallop1808
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > trimmings or ornamentation > border or edging > parts of
dag1399
tag1402
tatter1402
jag1530
cut1563
Vandyke1827
tab1834
tabc1880
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > [noun] > that which hangs or is suspended > raggedly
tatter-wagc1400
tag1402
tatter1402
tatter-wallop1808
tag-rag1827
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > [noun] > piece of > rag > a rag
clout?c1225
rata1250
ragc1390
shrag?a1400
tatter-wagc1400
tatter1402
jag1555
libbet1627
tatter-wallop1808
tat1839
tag1840
trollopa1843
fent1844
raggle1888
lappie1892
1402 Polit. Poems (Rolls) II. 69 Of suche wide clothing, tateris and tagges, it hirtith myn hert hevyly.
c1500 Rowlis Cursing 135 in Laing Anc. Poet. Scotl. Ruffy Ragmen [a devil] with his taggis Sall ryfe thair sinfull saule in raggis.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 152 Thae tarmegantis with tag and tatter Full lowd in Ersche begowth to clatter.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 313 The skyrtes of his goune all pounced in cuttes and tagges.
1840 W. M. Thackeray Paris Sketch Bk. I. 16 Crumpled tags of ribbon.
1884 St. James's Gaz. 10 May 6/1 The tags of drapery and other accessories.
1889 Cornhill Mag. Feb. 124 With tags of ribbon sticking out in unexpected places.
2. A small pendent piece or part hanging from, or attached more or less loosely to the main body of anything. With numerous specific applications, e.g.
a. A matted lock of wool on a sheep; a tag-lock; a twisted or matted lock of hair.
ΚΠ
a1641 J. Smyth Berkeley MSS (1883) I. 157 What money was..made by sale of the locks, belts and tags of Sheep.
1888 Harper's Mag. June 137/2 Her reddish-brown hair, which grew in a fringe below her crown, was plaited into small tags or tails.
b. A shred of animal tissue.
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1724 A. Ramsay Health 186 Bones corrupt and bare, Through ulcerated tags of muscles stare.
1897 J. Hutchinson Archives Surg. VIII. No. 31. 214 Under atropine the pupils dilated, but shewed numerous tags of adhesion.
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. III. 716 They [adhesions] are then seen as filamentous tags on the outside of the intestine.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 612 A small tag of fibrin from the valve.
c. A shred of metal in a casting: see quot.
ΚΠ
1863 C. Lyell Geol. Evid. Antiq. Man ii. 10 Some of the moulds in which the bronze instruments were cast, and ‘tags’ as they are called, of bronze, which are formed in the hole through which the fused metal was poured.
d. A final curl, twirl, or flourish added to a letter, sometimes used as a mark of contraction.
ΚΠ
1867 F. J. Furnivall Percy Folio I. 18 (note) To many of the final d's is a tag, which often means nothing, and often means s.
e. figurative. An appendage; the tail-end (of any proceeding).
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the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [noun] > the latter part
eveningOE
enda1200
eventide?c1225
finea1350
tail1377
latter (last) enda1382
issue1484
latter day?1498
waning1561
last days1572
heel1584
sunsetting1593
fall1596
lag-end1598
posterior1598
sunset1599
dotage1606
exit1615
stern1623
waning timea1639
last1683
heel piecea1764
shank1828
tail-end1845
tailpiece1869
tag1882
teatime1913
end-point1921
1703 R. Steele Tender Husband i. i Seem to have come into the World only to be Taggs in the Pedigree of a Wealthy House.
1882 H. S. Holland Logic & Life (1885) 317 Death is but the tag of this life.
3. † c. Phrases. to hold tag, to keep a person engaged in conversation: cf. buttonhole v. to a tag, to the minutest point, exactly; cf. to a T. Obsolete.
a. A point of metal or other hard substance at the end of a lace, string, strap, or the like, primarily used to facilitate its insertion through an eyelet-hole, as in a bootlace or stay-lace, but when externally visible often made ornamental, as on the ‘points’ in use before buttons; an aglet.The first two quots. are of doubtful sense.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > ornamental trimmings > [noun] > other
label1440
tag1570
O1587
velvet-guard1598
seam1687
looping1690
patte1835
sequin1857
flot1872
torsade1872
Sicilian embroidery1882
astrakhan1887
goffering1889
fob1894
strass1926
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > fastenings > lace, cord, or string > tag of
aglet1365
dagc1400
tag1570
auglet1594
point-tag1649
taba1825
1501–2 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 33 Item, for taggis to ane Franch sadill and mending of it xij d.
1507 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1901) III. 270 Item, for taggis, bukkilles, and small graith to thaim, xv. s.]
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Aiiiv/2 Ye Tag of a poynt, ferretrum.
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Vn fer d'aiguillette, a tagge.
1592 J. Lyly Gallathea v. i. sig. F4v Thy Maister could make siluer pottes of tagges of poynts.
1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 56 With long silver or golden Tags hanging down before.
a1734 R. North Examen (1740) iii. viii. §15 593 Now comes the Tag to this fine Lace.
1832 C. Babbage Econ. Machinery & Manuf. iv. 25 The simple art of making the tags of boot-laces.
1861 T. Wright Ess. Archæol. I. vii. 133 The object..is part of the metal tag at the end of the belt.
b. figurative.
ΚΠ
1575 G. Gascoigne Fruites of Warre lxi, in Posies sig. Hviiv Is witte nowe wente so wandring from thy minde? Are all thy points so voide of Reasons taggs?
1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle sig. E4 Heere's the point [Draws her sword] that I vntrusse, 'thas but one tag, 'twill serue tho to tye vp a rogues tongue.
ΚΠ
1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Cvijv Scotfree we may hould tagge, In frendly chat this sommers night.
1678 V. Alsop Melius Inquirendum Introd. 18 To hang on a String only with those who jump in with our own Points to a Tag.
1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin iv. 318 At Trent, when Concord in a Bag Came Post from Rome, they hit it to a Tag!
4.
a. An ornamental pendant; a tassel; a ribbon bearing a jewel, etc.
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the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > [noun] > pendant ornaments
pendantc1400
tasselc1400
tarsel1459
pend1488
pendace1488
drop1502
pendle1567
tag1570
tasse1570
tasselet1577
lustre1682
fiocco1694
dewdrop1880
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > ornamental trimmings > [noun] > tassel
tasselc1400
tarsel1459
tag1570
tasse1570
job1659
fiocco1694
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Aiiiv/2 Ye Tag of a purse, appendix.
1686 London Gaz. No. 2132/4 Lost.., a black laced Palatin with Diamond Tags upon black Ribon.
1765 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting (ed. 2) I. vii. 145 The first lady has tags of a particular form, exactly like those on the dress of my duchess of Suffolk.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) vi. 55 Our good child..passed in review all her gowns, fichus, tags, bobbins, laces, silk stockings, and fallals.
1890 Spectator 14 June 834/2 The sculptor..has filled up part of the arch with long heavy tassels hanging from the saddle-cloth. Throughout the work there seems to be an excess of tag and small decoration.
b. plural. A footman's shoulder-knots.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > trimmings or ornamentation > epaulette or shoulder knot
shoulder pointa1627
shoulder-knot1676
epaulette1783
wing1810
tags1837
shell1847
1837 J. Morier Abel Allnutt xxx. 175 A stout footman staggering under a long cane and matted tags, and with difficulty waddling in his stiff plushes.
1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) ix. 102 With such great tags upon his liveried shoulder.
5. A catkin of a tree. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > inflorescence or collective flower > [noun] > of particular type, shape, or arrangement > catkin(s) or unisexual in florescence
chatc1400
tappette1561
catkin1578
chaton1578
kitekin1578
taglet1578
tag1597
cat's tail1611
nucament1633
tassel1646
catling1665
iulus1668
amentum1720
jul1725
ament1783
pussycat1850
lamb's tails1882
1597 J. Gerard Herball i. 17 The catkins or tags which grow on nut trees and Aller trees.
1878 H. B. Stowe Poganuc People xvii. 147 The tremulous tags of the birches and alders shook themselves gaily out in the woods.
6. The tip of the tail of an animal, esp. when distinct in colour or otherwise; the tail-piece of an angler's fly. (Much earlier in tagged adj. 3.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > rump and tail > [noun] > tail > tip of
tag1681
on tip-tail1837
1681 J. Chetham Angler's Vade Mecum xxxv. 154 Some red warpt in for the tag of his tail.
1787 T. Best Conc. Treat. Angling (ed. 2) 106.
1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies i. 37 A great brown sharpnosed creature, with a white tag to her brush.
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling xiii. 395 Tie on the tag, which is usually a bit of tinsel.
1886 Field 27 Feb. 268/1 The fox..gets the credit of being a vixen; but his snowy tag has only to be seen in order to dispel that notion.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXV. 449/1 Two of the best grayling flies are a very small apple-green dun and the red tag.
7. The strip of parchment bearing the pendent seal of a deed.
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society > communication > indication > marking > imprinting > sealing > [noun] > attaching of seal > material attaching seal
double queuec1475
labela1513
sealing-thread1591
tag1688
stock1711
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xv. 21/1 A writt sealed vp, haueing two taggs or Labells Or, in a feild Gules.
1872 C. Innes Lect. Sc. Legal Antiq. v. 235 A small piece of the seal shall stick at the tag of the brief.
1887 J. B. Sheppard in Lit. Cantuar. (Rolls) I. 341 (note) The originals have now both lost their seals, although the slits for the tags remain.
8.
a. A tab or tie-label attached by one end to a package, to luggage, etc.; also, a label pinned on as a badge, etc. Also figurative = tab n.1 7a. Originally and chiefly U.S.
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society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > labelling > [noun] > label, tag, or ticket
bill1474
schedule1523
label?1577
libel1603
tessera1656
check1812
price ticket1830
etiquette1831
sticker1862
tag1864
price tag1880
tab1883
tally1909
mailing label1959
swing-ticket1962
swing label1968
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Tag..2. Any slight appendage..; specifically, a direction card or label.
1891 Cent. Dict. Tag..2 (c). A strip of leather, parchment, strong paper, or the like, loose at one end, and secured to a box, bag, or parcel, to receive a written address or label.
1908 Times 26 Dec. 10/2 A new system of street collecting for public charities by means of tags or labels,..tried at San Francisco recently on behalf of the Children's Hospital... The advent of ‘tag day’ is well advertised.
a1910 Mod. Price List Tags with strings in packets. Extra large tags with ruled lines.
1961 Times 5 Jan. 4/3 After the interval Surrey drafted in extra men to help Prosser keep a tag on Farooq.
b. Sometimes applied to a tab or loop by which a coat or the like is hung up.
c. Electronics. A small metal projection to which a wire may be soldered or attached.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > transmission of electricity, conduction > wire as conductor > [noun] > means of connection
terminal screw1857
crossover block1892
tag1919
1919 R. Mordin Strowger Automatic Telephone Exchange ii. 34 The tags are arranged in ten sets of three rows, and pass completely through holes in the tag board, so that it is possible to wire the tags on either or both sides of the board.
1958 Pract. Wireless 34 63/2 All earth leads on the pre-amplifier are taken to one point, actually to a soldering tag on the input coaxial socket.
1971 Hi-Fi Sound Feb. 71/1 Never, under any circumstances, solder connections to the tags with them already on the cartridge.
d. (See quot. 1935.) North American slang.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > number plate
number-plate1869
registration plate1883
identification plate1901
plate1919
licence plate1926
tag1935
index plate1973
1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 118/1 Tag, an automobile license plate.
1971 Maclean's Sept. 34/1 The license plates (‘tags’), laws unto themselves, somehow manage to contradict and complement each other at the same time.
1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 18 June 7 c/3 [They] observed a Thunderbird with Louisiana tags circling the block.
e. Computing. A character or set of characters appended to an item of data in order to identify it.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > data > [noun] > label
tag1948
tagging1948
mark-up1980
1948 Theory & Techniques for Design of Electronic Digital Computers (Moore School of Electr. Engin., Univ. of Pennsylvania) IV. xxxix. 1 To introduce..a new element called a stop order tag which may be attached to the words stored in the memory.
1961 H. D. Leeds & G. M. Weinberg Computer Programming Fund. v. 151 Bits 0, 1, and 2 (often called the prefix of the word) and bits 18 to 20 (called the tag) specify the operation.
1963 IBM Jrnl. Res. & Devel. 7 337/2 If it is desired to translate the text with the aid of a microglossary, the text is preceded by a tag specifying the pertinent field.
1978 J. P. Hayes Computer Archit. & Organization iii. 149 The processor merely has to inspect the operand tags to determine the specific type of operation to be performed, e.g., a fixed-point double-precision addition.
f. An epithet; a label or popular designation. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > naming > name or appellation > [noun] > nickname or additional name
to-namec950
eke-name1303
surnamec1330
bynamec1374
nickname1440
addition1472
epitheton1570
by-term1579
epithet1579
agnomination1590
adjunct1598
apathaton1598
byword1598
nurse-name1605
familiar name1611
suradditiona1616
sobriquet1646
agname1652
last name1695
agnomen1809
cognomen1811
soubriquet1818
nickery1823
handle1838
cognomination1843
moniker1851
eponym1863
adname1890
tag1961
1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang.
1972 Times 7 Aug. (Jamaica Suppl.) p. iii/4 The lost goodwill..and the loss of the tag of still being the safest Caribbean country for investment.
1976 Daily Tel. 20 July 3/2 The Black Panther tag, probably coined by the press, was the worst of it.
1982 Oxford Star 4–5 Feb. 3/2 Cassells doesn't let the tag of Third Division top scorer bother him too much.
g. A price (cf. price tag n. at price n. Compounds 2); hence, an account or bill. Cf. tab n.1 7a.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > [noun]
cheapc1025
lofa1200
feer?c1225
pricea1382
apricec1460
tag1968
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > invoice or bill
bill1420
invoice1560
factory1615
invoy1617
facture1668
Williamc1859
check1868
price tab1886
tag1968
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. b2/3 (heading) Petrofind raises fuel oil price, bulk gas tag.
1977 Mod. Railways Dec. 474/2 BR stresses, too, that if there's a gulf between the price of the basic, low-cost vehicles customers have been using in old-style wagonload working and the tag on a late-1970s air-braked, 75 mile/h vehicle, there's a comparable contrast in the service obtainable.
1979 ‘D. Meiring’ Foreign Body xviii. 197 Even if they went broke, the bank would pick up Sagr's crude-oil tag and pay it.
9.
a. Something appended or added to a writing or speech, esp. by way of ornament or improvement, e.g. the moral of a fable, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > parts of a written composition > [noun] > addition or appendix
supplement1523
appendix1549
referendary1581
supply1584
postscript1596
corollary1603
annexary1605
annexe1625
appendage1651
streamer1696
tack1705
taga1734
rider1813
pendant1837
overmatter1887
afterword1890
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > ornateness > [noun] > embellishment > an) ornament(s)
coloursc1405
rhetoricc1425
gaudc1430
flower1508
flourish1603
embellishment1632
flosculation1651
floscule1669
gayness1670
floresa1734
taga1734
a1734 R. North Examen (1740) ii. v. §74 360 To avoid the Fastidium of noting all the Author's Tags joined to his Relations of this Time.
1872 W. Minto Man. Eng. Prose Lit. i. ii. 134 A tag of statistics is very chilling.
1879 L. Stephen Hours in Libr. 3rd Ser. 15 [Massinger] is fond of adding little moral tags..to the end of his plays.
1885 Manch. Examiner 13 Oct. 4/7 Each paragraph..would serve..as a tag by way of peroration to a debating club harangue.
b. A brief and usually familiar quotation added for special effect; a much used or trite quotation.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > literary and textual criticism > literary criticism > [noun] > practice of citing or quoting > that which is quoted
concordance1538
citation1548
remnant1601
traverse1608
quotation1618
tag1702
quote1885
cite1941
1702 S. Parker tr. Cicero Five Bks. De Finibus i. 5 With Tags of Metre translated from the Greek..we can dispense well enough.
1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt II. xvii. 48 I don't talk in tags of Latin, which might be learned by a schoolmaster's footboy.
1893 A. Jessopp Stud. Recluse vii. 225 Putting in tags and rags of French..to conceal poverty of style.
1897 Sat. Rev. 18 Dec. 701 The Latin tag holds: ‘Quem Deus vult perdere, prius dementat.’
1902 J. Buchan Watcher by Threshold iii. 175 Stories from Procopius and tags of Roman law.
c. The refrain or catch of a song or poem; the last words of a speech in a play, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > part of poem > [noun] > refrain
refraid?a1439
repeat?1497
refrain1530
rearfreight?1567
tag1717
rondeau1787
ephymnium1910
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > vocal music > a song > [noun] > refrain
refraid?a1439
overword?a1513
refrain1530
foot1538
counterverse1570
faburden1580
burden1598
holding1598
chorus1601
foreburden1603
bob1606
ludden1607
down1611
nonnya1616
rame?c1625
tag1717
overcome?a1800
overturn1825
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > words spoken by actors > specific group of
play-end1616
tag1717
1717 J. Gay Three Hours after Marriage i. 25 The tag of the Acts of a new Comedy.
1755 C. Charke Narr. Life 205 Concluding the Play with Jane Shore's Tag, at the End of the first Act of that Tragedy.
1793 H. Walpole Let. to Miss A. Berry 18 Oct. They have brought to my recollection the tag of an old song.
1815 W. Scott Let. 7 Nov. (1933) IV. 121 I am..anxious to store the heads of my young damsels with something better than the tags of rhimes.
1830 H. Lee Mem. Manager II. viii. 104 The tag; which is the technical phrase for the last lines of any play.
1876 N. Amer. Rev. 123 480 And, to borrow the tag of an old story, ‘There—my lord—I leave you’.
d. A musical phrase added to the end of a piece in composition or performance (see also quot. 1978). Esp. in Jazz.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > section of piece of music > [noun] > passages in jazz
jazz1918
break1926
chorus1926
stop time1929
tag1929
lick1932
riff1933
ride1935
release1936
sock chorus1936
rideout1939
screamer1940
stop chords1941
chase1942
stop chorus1942
mop1945
1929 N.Y. Times 20 Oct. ix. 8/6 Tag, ending added to a musical composition.
1932 Melody Maker June 507/3 The tag..implies that this is a band record.
1943 Riverboat Jazz (Brunswick Records) 7 He comes in to play a tag—just a few notes.
1958 P. Tanner in P. Gammond Decca Bk. Jazz xi. 130 A tradition has grown up..of concluding with a short drum break and a tag ensemble coda.
1960 H. O. Brunn Story Orig. Dixieland Jazz Band v. 59 The Dixieland Band's stock ending, the ‘dixieland tag’, faithfully concluded every number.
1978 Amer. Speech 1975 50 301 Tag, added ending of a song, often repeating the final words and designed to make a complete and satisfying arrangement.
e. Linguistics. An interrogative formula used to convert statements into questions. Cf. tag question n. at Compounds 2 below.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > use of interrogative > formula to create question
tag1957
1957 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xxviii. 17 An understanding of tags implies an understanding of sentence order and the role of accent.
1963 F. T. Visser Hist. Syntax Eng. Lang. I. ii. 175 The type ‘oh, Biffin told you, did he? (or He did?)’. This type differs from that illustrated in the preceding section in the fact that statement and tag with to do are either both positive or both negative.
1973 Archivum Linguisticum 4 69 Tag constructions can convey much to the discriminating listener.
1977 Language 53 742 An auxiliary verb typically can appear in the tag of tag questions.
a. The masses; people of the lowest social status. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > the lowest class > [noun] > the rabble
commona1350
rascala1382
rascaldry?1457
routc1475
tag and ragc1535
riff-raff1545
rabble1549
rascabilia1557
rabblement1565
bran1574
rascability1583
rascality1583
canaille1588
canalliary1600
canaglia1607
taga1616
ribble-rabble1635
volge1639
rabble rout1650
tag-rag and bob-tail1660
mobile1676
mobility1690
mob1691
rag-tag (also rag, tag) and bob-tail1725
kennel1726
rough scruff1814
rough scuff1816
tag-rag1826
rascalry1827
rascalment1832
doggery1843
polloi1856
raggle-taggle1958
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iii. i. 247 Will you hence, Before the Tagge returne? View more context for this quotation
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Tag, the rabble.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > the lowest class > [noun] > the rabble
commona1350
rascala1382
rascaldry?1457
routc1475
tag and ragc1535
riff-raff1545
rabble1549
rascabilia1557
rabblement1565
bran1574
rascability1583
rascality1583
canaille1588
canalliary1600
canaglia1607
taga1616
ribble-rabble1635
volge1639
rabble rout1650
tag-rag and bob-tail1660
mobile1676
mobility1690
mob1691
rag-tag (also rag, tag) and bob-tail1725
kennel1726
rough scruff1814
rough scuff1816
tag-rag1826
rascalry1827
rascalment1832
doggery1843
polloi1856
raggle-taggle1958
c1535 F. Bygod Treat. Impropriations (K.O.) Your fathers were wyse, both tagge and rag.
1554 H. Machyn Diary (1848) 50 Huntyd, and kyllyd tage and rage with honds and swords.
1566 J. Partridge Worthie Hystorie Plasidas 1041 To walles they go, both tagge and ragge, their Citie to defende.
1610 A. Cooke Pope Joane in Harl. Misc. (1809) IV. 95 That you have made Levites..of the scurvy and scabbed, of the lowest of the people, tag and rag.
a1626 L. Andrewes Serm. (1641) 181 This is the time when all hypocrites, atheists, tag and rag come.
18.. R. Southey Devil's Walk xxiii With music of fife and drum, And a consecrated flag, And shout of tag and rag, And march of rank and file.
1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. II. vi. viii. 163 Every Tag having his Rag at his side, to finish his pipe..and laugh at his flights of immortal dullness.
11. In servants' vocabulary: A lower servant.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > types of servant > [noun] > subordinate
under-servant1548
subservant1652
tag1857
1857 T. Wright Dict. Obsolete & Provinc. Eng. Tag, one who assists another at work in a secondary character. Northampt.
1860 Athenæum 17 Nov. 664 Servants..with their own distinction of ranks, the ‘Pugs’ and the ‘Tags’.
12. A disease in sheep; = tag-sore n. at Compounds 2: see quots.Cf. tagged adj. 5a, which is evidenced much earlier.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of sheep > [noun] > other disorders of sheep
pocka1325
soughta1400
pox1530
mad1573
winter rot1577
snuffa1585
leaf1587
leaf-sickness1614
redwater1614
mentigo1706
tag1736
white water1743
hog pox1749
rickets1755
side-ill1776
resp1789
sheep-fag1789
thorter-ill1791
vanquish1792
smallpox1793
shell-sicknessc1794
sickness1794
grass-ill1795
rub1800
pine1804
pining1804
sheep-pock1804
stinking ill1807
water sickness1807
core1818
wryneck1819
tag-belt1826
tag-sore1828
kibe1830
agalaxia1894
agalactia1897
lupinosis1899
trembling1902
struck1903
black disease1906
scrapie1910
renguerra1917
pulpy kidney1927
dopiness1932
blowfly strike1933
body strike1934
sleepy sickness1937
swayback1938
twin lamb disease1945
tick pyaemia1946
fly-strike1950
maedi1952
nematodiriasis1957
visna1957
maedi-visna1972
visna-maedi1972
1736 Compl. Family-piece iii. 425 Of the Tag or Belt in Sheep. Sheep are said to be tagged or belt, when they have a Flux, or continued running of Ordure, which lighting upon the Tail, the Heat of the Dung, by its scalding, breeds the Scab.
1756 Compl. Body Husb. 694 The Tag is situated in the inner part of the Tail; it consists of Scabs and Sores.
1807 Prize Ess. & Trans. Highland Soc. Scotl. 3 434 A disease..affecting the tail, has been denominated Tag.
13. slang. A person who follows another as a detective or spy. Cf. tag v.1 4b, tail n.1 6b.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > [noun] > detective > who watches or follows
shadow1859
peeper1908
tail1914
tag1966
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > procedures used in spying > [noun] > following > person engaged in
shadow1859
shadower1889
tail1914
tag1966
1966 ‘A. Hall’ 9th Directive vii. 62 Who were the tags? The thin one, and the one with the splay-footed walk?
1972 J. D. Buchanan Professional v. 62 Guerin realized he had a tag... Guerin would walk and stop, the tag would do the same.
1979 ‘A. Hall’ Scorpion Signal xii. 139 Ignator went through the lights at yellow... I don't think he was going through on the yellow because he'd discovered the tag.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
tag-like adj.
ΚΠ
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. IV. 160 Ragged sloughy material, which often projects in tag-like pieces into the abscess cavity.
C2.
tag alder n. U.S. local name for some species of alder, esp. Alnusincana, A. serrulata, and (on the Pacific coast) A. rubra.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > birch and allies > [noun] > alder and allies
aldereOE
alderna1325
prick tree1551
black alder1578
aln1589
sporkenwood1599
alder1648
alder buckthorn?1742
orl1747
alder1755
arn1791
Turkey alder1822
Oregon alder1842
berry alder1863
tag alder1891
1891 Lancet 3 Oct. 772/1 Tag alder.
tag axle n. North American a non-powered set of wheels on a truck, etc., attached so as to support extra weight.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > axle > types of
crank-axle1725
floating axle1907
tandem axle1956
tag axle1971
1971 M. Tak Truck Talk 163 Tag axle, the hindmost axle of a tandem-axle tractor if that axle serves only to support additional gross weight.
1977 Telegraph-Jrnl. (St. John, New Brunswick) 1 June 3/5 He said in an interview that the Motor Vehicles Branch no longer allows extra weight when a third ‘tag axle’ is added to tandem drive trucks.
tag-belt n. = tag-sore n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of sheep > [noun] > other disorders of sheep
pocka1325
soughta1400
pox1530
mad1573
winter rot1577
snuffa1585
leaf1587
leaf-sickness1614
redwater1614
mentigo1706
tag1736
white water1743
hog pox1749
rickets1755
side-ill1776
resp1789
sheep-fag1789
thorter-ill1791
vanquish1792
smallpox1793
shell-sicknessc1794
sickness1794
grass-ill1795
rub1800
pine1804
pining1804
sheep-pock1804
stinking ill1807
water sickness1807
core1818
wryneck1819
tag-belt1826
tag-sore1828
kibe1830
agalaxia1894
agalactia1897
lupinosis1899
trembling1902
struck1903
black disease1906
scrapie1910
renguerra1917
pulpy kidney1927
dopiness1932
blowfly strike1933
body strike1934
sleepy sickness1937
swayback1938
twin lamb disease1945
tick pyaemia1946
fly-strike1950
maedi1952
nematodiriasis1957
visna1957
maedi-visna1972
visna-maedi1972
1826 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Agric. vii. 1013 Pinning, tag-belt.., excoriation brought on by diarrhoea.
tagboard n. (a) U.S. a type of strong cardboard, used esp. for making luggage labels; (b) Electronics a board of insulating material containing two or more parallel lines of tags (sense 8c above), so that a component can be mounted between each pair.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > [noun] > insulating strip or board
tagboard1912
tag strip1942
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > material for making paper > paper > materials made from paper or pulp > [noun] > cardboard > types of
index board1850
carton1891
third1891
poster board1899
tagboard1912
triplex board1921
ivory board1926
1912 Walden's Directory of Papers (Eastern ed.) p. liii Paper and card board..translucents, tag boards, etc.
1952 E. J. Labarre Dict. Paper (ed. 2) 301/1 Tag paper or board is a very strong and tough product made on the Fourdrinier (Bristol), used for making the well-known luggage and shipping tags.
1956 Wireless World Mar. 125/1 A plain tagboard, carrying resistors and capacitors.
1973 G. Davey Fun with Hi-Fi iii. 25 (caption) Layout and tagboards of Mullard 510 amplifier.
1976 National Observer (U.S.) 23 Oct. 20/1 (advt.) Each issue is 42 or more pages long, bound in sturdy tagboard.
tag-boat n. U.S. local a boat towed behind a small steamer or sailing vessel; a tender, cockboat.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > boat attendant on larger vessel > [noun] > ship's boat
ship-boatc1440
tag-boat1877
1877 S. O. Jewett Deephaven 128 I got into the schooner's tag-boat quick.
tag day n. North American = flag-day n. (b) at flag n.4 Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social attitudes > philanthropy > [noun] > charitableness or alms-giving > day for collecting for charity
flag-day1894
tag day1908
1908Tag day [see sense 8a].
1916 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 4 July 6/3 Friday, August 4, is to be tag day for the Italian Red Cross Society.
1949 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 3 Sept. 10/1 The conference agreed [upon]..a tag day on which Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will solicit funds during the Kentucky State Fair.
tag-end n. the last part or remnant of anything; a remaining scrap or fragment; = fag end n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [noun] > the latter part > mere
butt end1597
fag endc1600
faga1627
tag-end1807
rag enda1869
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > remaining fragment
stobc1420
end1481
stump1516
fragment1531
stuba1533
remainder?1570
remain1572
fag1582
snub1590
remnant1597
butt1612
heeltap1776
hagsnar1796
tag-end1807
shank1828
nuba1834
nubbin1857
snar1892
1807 C. Wilmot Let. 15 May in M. Wilmot & C. Wilmot Russ. Jrnls. (1934) ii. 245 I believe..we have been solemnising..the Tag end of those very May Day ceremonies which scandaliz'd ould Cato near two thousand years ago.
1818 S. T. Coleridge Gen. Introd. or Treat. on Method 21 in Encycl. Metrop. I Not made up of miserable clap-traps, and the tag-ends of mawkish novels, and endless sermonizing.
1900 Westm. Gaz. 8 Nov. 3/2 The mania for gold embroidering and braiding and the gold tag ends of present-day fashions.
tag-fastener n.
tag-holder n. a device for attaching tags or labels.
tag line n. U.S. = punchline n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > jest or pleasantry > a jest or joke > punchline
tag line1926
boffo1934
payoff line1934
zinger1970
1926 G. Ade Let. 14 Sept. (1973) 113 The prosecutor asks: ‘Do you know him?’ She studies him carefully and then pulls the tag line: ‘No, I don't recognize him at all.’
1941 B. Schulberg What makes Sammy Run? iii. 44 One of those long dirty stories for which the only justification would be the tag line at the climax.
1982 Fortune 6 Sept. 53/1 One recent ad. shows a stunning model wearing nothing but a solitaire diamond necklace. ‘She can't flaunt a fur on the Côte d'Azur,’ reads the tagline.
tag-lock n. a matted lock of sheep's wool, esp. one of those about the hinder parts; = dag-lock n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > body and parts of > fleece > matted
cot1471
tag-lock1615
ket1786
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > body and parts of > fleece > on particular parts of the body > clotted with dung
tag-lock1615
dag-locks1623
dag1731
1615 T. Adams Lycanthropy 17 in Blacke Devill They will plucke our fleeces; leaue vs nothing but the tag-locks.
1884 Cent. Mag. Feb. 519/2 The tag-locks and pulled wool were mostly worked up in the..small factories into stocking-yarn [etc.] for the farmer's use.
tag-machine n. a machine for making tags or labels.
tag-needle n. a needle for attaching labels to bags, bales, etc.
tag-phrase n. an automatically repeated or over-used phrase.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > self-evident truth, axiom > [noun] > trite saying, commonplace
commonplace1560
household word1574
scholium1830
commonplaceism1831
banality1861
bromide1906
stock response1925
tag-phrase1933
1933 R. Tuve Seasons & Months iv. 110 All these uses of the seasons-introduction appear and reappear, sometimes elaborately, sometimes in a mere conventional tag-phrase.
1963 Times 21 Feb. 16/7 Mr Horst Buchholz, whose mixture of American and Indian accents is given an even more goon-like quality by the over-used attempt to inject local colour with the tag-phrase ‘isn't it?’
tag question n. Linguistics a question formed by the appendage of an interrogative formula to a statement; a formula used in this manner (cf. sense 9e above).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > use of interrogative > types of question
x-question1924
tag question1933
reversed polarity1957
wh-question1957
1933 O. Jespersen Essent. Eng. Gram. xxviii. 304 Note especially tag-questions..like: He was angry, wasn't he?
1957 R. W. Zandvoort Handbk. Eng. Gram. (new ed.) v. ii. 224 A certain type of compound sentence, consisting of a statement followed by an appended question (or ‘tag question’) modelled on the main clause... You are not ill, are you?
1982 Amer. Speech 57 95 Lakoff..considers tag questions (He can work, can't he? and He is honest, isn't he?) as declaratives—assertions.
tag-sore n. pustular excoriation of a sheep's tail set up by the irritation of diarrhoeal flux.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of sheep > [noun] > other disorders of sheep
pocka1325
soughta1400
pox1530
mad1573
winter rot1577
snuffa1585
leaf1587
leaf-sickness1614
redwater1614
mentigo1706
tag1736
white water1743
hog pox1749
rickets1755
side-ill1776
resp1789
sheep-fag1789
thorter-ill1791
vanquish1792
smallpox1793
shell-sicknessc1794
sickness1794
grass-ill1795
rub1800
pine1804
pining1804
sheep-pock1804
stinking ill1807
water sickness1807
core1818
wryneck1819
tag-belt1826
tag-sore1828
kibe1830
agalaxia1894
agalactia1897
lupinosis1899
trembling1902
struck1903
black disease1906
scrapie1910
renguerra1917
pulpy kidney1927
dopiness1932
blowfly strike1933
body strike1934
sleepy sickness1937
swayback1938
twin lamb disease1945
tick pyaemia1946
fly-strike1950
maedi1952
nematodiriasis1957
visna1957
maedi-visna1972
visna-maedi1972
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Tag-sore, a disease in sheep. Cyc.
tag strip n. Electronics a strip of insulating material on which are mounted a line of tags (sense 8c above).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > [noun] > insulating strip or board
tagboard1912
tag strip1942
1942 Electronic Engin. 15 238/2 Such tag strips are found in medium wave receivers, as well as in short wave apparatus.
1960 Pract. Wireless 36 405/1 A tag-strip provides a convenient anchoring point for leads.
tag-tail n. a worm with a yellow tag or tail; also, a parasite, a hanger-on.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > division Vermes > [noun] > member of (worm) > with yellow tail
tag-worm1602
tag-tail1653
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > servile flattery or currying favour > [noun] > servile flatterer > parasite
clienta1393
lick-dishc1440
maunche present1440
scambler?a1513
smell-feast1519
parasite1539
hanger-on1549
parasitaster1552
waiter at the table1552
lick-trencher1571
hang-by1579
shadow1579
trencher-fly1590
trencher-friend1590
fawnguest1592
pot-hunter1592
lick-spigot1599
trencherman1599
shark1600
tub-hunter1600
zany1601
lick-box1611
by-hangera1626
cosherer1634
shirk1639
panlicker1641
clientelary1655
tantony1659
led friend1672
sponger1677
fetcher and carrier1751
myrmidon1800
trencher-licker1814
onhanger1821
tag-tail1835
sponge1838
lick-ladle1849
lick-platter1853
sucker1856
freeloader1933
bludger1938
ligger1977
joyrider1990
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler iv. 95 There are..divers other kindes of worms..as the marsh-worm, the tag-tail,..the gilt-tail. View more context for this quotation
1681 J. Chetham Angler's Vade Mecum iv. 26 Tagtail Is a Worm of..a pale flesh colour, with a yellow tag on his tail.
1835 C. A. Davis Lett. J. Downing, Major (new ed.) xxxvi. 311 You are surrounded by sich a raft of snuffle-nose, scabby set of tag-tails, that I can't have nothin more to do with you.
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Tag-tail..a person who attaches himself to another against the will of the latter; a dependent; a sycophant; a parasite.
1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports (ed. 12) i. v. xi. §3. 312 The Tagtail is common in good strong clays which are well-manured for turnips, mangold-wurzel, &c.
tag-wool n. wool made from tag-locks.
tag-worm n. = tag-tail n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > division Vermes > [noun] > member of (worm) > with yellow tail
tag-worm1602
tag-tail1653
1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall i. f. 26 His baites are flies and Tag-wormes, which the Cornish English terme Angle-touches.
1839 T. C. Hofland Brit. Angler's Man. (1841) ii. 10 The little gilt-tail, or tag-worm, Is of a pale yellow towards the tail.
Draft additions 1993
a. Also electronic tag. An electronic device attached to a person or thing for monitoring purposes, esp. to record the movements of mental patients or offenders under house arrest, or to deter shoplifting.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > [noun] > devices for > specific
meter1832
time stamp1855
telemeter1877
tape recorder1892
slot-meter1899
motor meter1903
check meter1909
Recordak1928
Thermo-Fax1953
ultramicrofiche1967
ultrafiche1971
electronic tag1980
1976 Economist 3 Jan. 4/3 Road-pricing is a well-known concept. Other schemes include fitting an electronic identification tag to all public vehicles to give them priority at traffic lights.]
1980 Fortune 25 Feb. 115/2 A determined-enough shoplifter can remove any electronic tag—but not readily.
1982 Times 16 Oct. 9 Instead of going to prison he would wear something. The offender's tag would be a metal band... The offender's tag could contain an electronic receiver.
1983 Discount Store News 25 July 36/1 We are considering a large-scale purchase of a new system of electronic shoplifting control—tags on garments, etc.
1988 Times 9 Feb. 5/1 The tag, designed for the petty criminal, can be fitted to the leg, neck or wrist. It is controlled by a central computer, which rings the offender at home at random intervals.
b. A nickname or other identifying mark written as the signature of a graffiti artist, often in an elaborately decorative style. Cf. sense 8f. slang (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written text > an inscription > [noun] > graffiti > signature of graffiti artist
tag1980
1980 N.Y. Times Mag. 19 Oct. 44/5 It is close to a decade since the advent in New York of graffiti tags, often simply newly minted nicknames or random combinations of letters.
1984 New Yorker 26 Mar. 98/3 The proliferation of ‘writing’..along with its..development from scrawled felt-tip ‘tags’ on city walls to spray-can ‘pieces’..has been a visible part of New York's daily life.
1987 Times 11 Nov. 3/1 Gang members..used coloured paint and red pencils to deface hundreds of buses in Birmingham with their nicknames, or ‘tags’.
1990 Daily Tel. 3 May 4/8 Vandals have imported graffiti materials from America to ape New York ‘tag teams’—gangs who vie to leave their personal trademarks in daring or eye-catching places.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tagn.2adj.
/taɡ/, U.S. /tæɡ/ A. n.2
1. A children's game in which one player pursues the others until he touches one of them, who in turn becomes pursuer; = tig n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > hiding or chasing game > [noun] > tag
tick1622
hide-and-seek1724
tag1738
tig1816
touch-last1825
touch1828
widdy widdy way1832
touch and run1844
tiggy1845
widdy1859
Tommy Touchwood1876
pom-pom-pull-away1883
pull-away1883
squat tag1883
stoop tag1898
he1900
it1969
shadow tag1969
1738 Gentleman's Mag. Feb. 80/1 In Queen Mary's Reign, Tag was all the Play; where the Lad saves himself by touching of cold Iron.
1766 H. Brooke Fool of Quality I. v. 177 After they were cloyed with Hide and Seek, they all played Tagg till they were well warmed.
1864 M. C. Harris Louie's Last Term 179 There's Eva Leonard beckoning to me to come and play Tag.
1903 Smart Set 9 78 The merry hornet played a game Of tag about my head.
2. Baseball. The act of putting out a runner by touching him with the ball (or with the gloved hand holding the ball) while he is off base. Also tag-out. Cf. tag v.2 2a.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > [noun] > putting player out > actions
K1861
double play1867
assist1877
put-out1882
force-out1896
rundown1908
pickoff1911
strike-out1911
tag1941
punch-out1973
1941 Baseball Mag. Sept. 439/1 A big league infielder..confessed..‘I've made the tag with the empty glove outstretched.’
1941 Baseball Mag. Sept. 439/3 Some stars..use a two-handed tag.
1952 N.Y. Herald-Tribune 16 Aug. 11/1 Only Lockman's cut-off of Hartung's throw and the subsequent tag-out of Mathews at third averted further damage to the home forces.
1971 L. Koppett N.Y. Times Guide Spectator Sports i. 21 The rules forbid a runner to leave the ‘base~path’—an imaginary direct line between bases—to avoid a tag.
B. adj.
Of, pertaining to, or designating a form of professional wrestling between single alternating representatives of two teams (usually of two men each).One team-member cannot enter the ring until the other tags or touches hands with him on leaving it.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > wrestling > [adjective] > types of wrestling
Cumberland1823
catch-hold1872
Graeco-Roman1888
all in1930
tag1955
1955 Sun (Baltimore) 16 May 16/7 (heading) 6-man tag bout tops mat card.
1955 Sun (Baltimore) 16 May 16/7 For the first time in the history of wrestling, a six-man tag team bout will be staged.
1963 Economist 7 Sept. 819/1 The confused spectacle of tag wrestling (four in a ring).
1966 Times 28 Feb. (Canada Suppl.) p. xiv/7 The average card in Canada has a tag match (two-man teams with the members taking turns to maul each other).
1972 J. Mosedale Football viii. 115 He teamed with his old idol Nagurski in tag team matches.
1974 Greenville (S. Carolina) News 23 Apr. 8/2 In other bouts, Sandy Scott and Johnny Weaver downed Gene Lewis and Bill White in a special tag team event.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
Tagn.3
/tɑːk/ = day n. 8c. Usually der Tag.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > period > a day or twenty-four hours > [noun]
dayOE
journeyc1305
joura1500
dog day1669
nycthemeron1682
lunar day1686
political day1706
twenty-four1735
nycthemer1837
mail-day1844
Tag1914
1914 J. M. Barrie (title) Der Tag.
1914 O. Seaman in Punch 9 Dec. 470/1 [German Crown Prince loq.] Thank Father's God that I can say My constant aim was Peace; I simply lived to see the Day (Den Tag) when wars would cease.
1916 O. Seaman Made in England 35 For now the psychologic Tag has come To put the final lid on Christendom.
1918 Times 9 Dec. 9/3 The wonderful day, the great Der Tag, Which Prussians had vow'd with unmannerly brag Should see Old England lower her flag.
1924 J. Buchan Three Hostages ix. 125 We'll fix the 10th of June for Der Tag... The round-up of all must be simultaneous.
1939 C. Day Lewis Child of Misfortune iii. iii. 290 You're saving it up for Der Tag... A time will come when those persons will be very sorry.
1966 P. Flower Fiends of Family xvi. 187 ‘Der tag,’ Maggie said. ‘At long last, the day of the great adventure.’
1975 I. Melchior Sleeper Agent ii. 133 When der Tag comes, when his usefulness is Kaput, we'll slap him in detention.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
tagv.1
/taɡ/, U.S. /tæɡ/ 1.
a. transitive. To furnish or mark with or as with a tag (in various senses).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > tailor or make clothes [verb (transitive)] > other
fur13..
buttonc1380
lashc1440
pointa1470
set1530
tuft1535
vent1547
ruff1548
spangle1548
string1548
superbody1552
to pull out1553
quilt1555
flute1578
seam1590
seed1604
overtrim1622
ruffle1625
tag1627
furbelow1701
tuck1709
flounce1711
pipe1841
skirt1848
ruche1855
pouch1897
panel1901
stag1902
create1908
pin-fit1926
ease1932
pre-board1940
post-board1963
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > making other clothing > make other clothing [verb (transitive)] > carry out specific processes
stock1520
sole1570
toe1608
tag1627
foot1663
refoot1827
re-cover1896
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > hang or suspend [verb (transitive)] > furnish with something hanging
hang1451
tag1705
string1845
1503 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 202 For ane curpal and ane tee to the harnes sadill, tagging..of the samyn.]
1627 W. Hawkins Apollo Shroving ii. i. 20 What did you giue me? Nothing but a dozen of rotten silke points. You must tagge them better ere I trusse vp your request.
1630 W. Davenant Just Italian iv. sig. G1 I must e'en goe tagge points in a Garret.
1705 Hudibras Redivivus iv. vi Their Hair tagg'd with Pearls of Sweat.
1707 in W. McDowall Hist. Dumfries (1873) 461 The expense of tagging, tongueing, transporting and hanging of the said three bells.
1800 Watkins Biogr. Dict. at Bobart Mr. Granger says that on rejoicing days he used to tag his beard with silver.
1842 Ld. Tennyson St. Simeon Stylites in Poems (new ed.) II. 54 All my beard Was tagged with icy fringes in the moon.
1899 A. Conan Doyle Duet iv. 41 The dim watery..sunlight..tagged all her wandering curls with a coppery gleam.
b. To furnish with a tag, tab, or label; to label. Also spec., to mark and record (animals) so that their migrations can be traced.In quot. 1907 to patch, as with a label.
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society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > labelling > label, tag, or ticket [verb (transitive)]
ticket1611
label1731
betag1763
relabel1834
mislabel1835
tablet1864
tag1883
sticker1912
flag1934
the world > animals > zoology > study or treat zoologically [verb (transitive)] > mark and record animals
tag1953
1883 Fisheries Exh. Catal. 203 Photographs..showing..the..tagging the fish, and the process of manipulation of the eggs and young fish at the hatchery.
1896 Daily News 30 Jan. 3/7 After inspection each animal will be tagged and described so that identification will be easily made upon landing.
1907 Macmillan's Mag. May 540 The..cloak of brown sackcloth, sometimes tagged here and there with red and green.
1908 Daily Chron. 26 Feb. 8/5 They should be..wrapped in tissue paper and tagged, so that their covering need not be disturbed in a search for any particular colour.
1953 P. M. Scott & J. M. M. Fisher Thousand Geese vi. 58 The expedition was confined to camp, except for short dashes..to tag a few whooper cygnets.
1974 Nature 19 Apr. 642/2 Anglers tagged 954 bass..on the coast of Devon.
c. To furnish (a speech or composition) with a verbal tag, or tags, as quotations; to supply (prose or blank verse) with rhymes.
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society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > rhyme > rhyme with [verb (transitive)] > compose (rhymed verses) > supply with rhymes
tag1687
1687 Reflect. on Hind & Panther 32 He hath put them into an unusual dress, and hath tagg'd 'em with Rhimes.
1690 Waller's Poems ii. Pref. Really Verse in those days was but down-right prose, tag'd with rhymes.
a1696 J. Aubrey Brief Lives (1898) II. 72 (Milton) Dreyden..went to him to have leave to putt his Paradise Lost into a drama in rhymne. Mr. Milton recieved [sic] him civilly, and told him he would give him leave to tagge his verses.
1714 A. Pope Chaucer's Wife of Bath in R. Steele Poet. Misc. 9 And tag each Sentence with, My Life! my Dear!
1823 Examiner 705/2 Canning tags his speeches with poetry.
1841 I. D'Israeli Amenities Lit. II. 220 The Scriptures..were tagged with rhymes for ballads.
d. Biology and Chemistry. = label v. 5.
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the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > processes > [verb (transitive)] > labelling
label1935
tag1939
pulse-label1961
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical assay or analytical chemistry > analyse chemically [verb (transitive)] > by process of specific types of chemical analysis > analyse using other techniques
refract1845
tag1939
1939 Amer. Jrnl. Physiol. 127 557 The radioactivity ‘tags’ the atoms.
1947 Ann. Rev. Microbiol. 1 271 The foregoing method is..not limited to ‘tagging’ the antigen by means of glucosamine analyses.
1969 Times 9 Apr. 7/2 DNA sub-units tagged with radioactive marker atoms were fed to bacteria.
1977 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) July 46/3 The antigens were first visualized by tagging their antibodies with a fluorescent dye that could be seen under ultraviolet radiation.
e. Computing. To label (an item of data) in order to identify it for subsequent processing or retrieval.
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society > computing and information technology > data > database > use data [verb (transitive)] > label
tag1959
1959 M. H. Wrubel Primer of Programming for Digital Computers iii. 56 We must..tag the instructions to be modified..so that those instructions and no others will be modified by adding the contents of the loop box.
1971 Computers & Humanities 6 43 It is a simple matter to enter and tag automatically categories of information indicated by font and/or format... Such tagging is a part of the Dissly service.
1983 Trans. Philol. Soc. 33 This is a program which identifies and tags idioms which it finds in an Idiom list.
2. To append as an addition or afterthought; to fasten, tack on, or add as a tag to something. (Chiefly of things non-material.)
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1704 J. Swift Tale of Tub ii. 61 To this System of Religion were tagged several subaltern Doctrines.
1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. Introd. 10 The barbarous custom..of tagging new names to the old ones.
1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log I. i. 2 Before the time when a gallant action or two tagged half of the letters of the alphabet to a man's name, like the tail of a paper kite.
1836 W. Irving Widow's Ordeal in Magnolia for 1837 264 They could not help expressing their wonder..why the duke should have tagged this supernumerary day to the end of the year.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair Before Curtain p. viii I have no other moral than this to tag to the present story of ‘Vanity Fair’.
1916 T. MacDonagh Lit. in Ireland 150 The first two verses of the better version..are essential poetry; the three that are tagged on in the song-books are no such thing.
a. To fasten, stitch, or tack together; to join. Also figurative. Obsolete, (except as in 3b).
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the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > fasten [verb (transitive)] > together
bind1535
tie1585
ingrapple1599
fibulate1656
tag1681
1681 Heraclitus Ridens 20 Sept. 2/2 He..has a great share of the Joyners Trade in tagging ends of Sedition.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 290 His Cloaths were tagg'd with Thorns, and filth his Limbs besmear'd.
1706 D. Defoe Jure Divino vii. 6 Tagging Fig-leaf-Vests, To hide his Body from the Sight of Beasts.
a1745 J. Swift in Wks. (1958) VIII. 45 Resistance, and the succession of the house of Hanover, the whig writers perpetually tag together.
b. To join or string together (verses, rhymes).
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society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > compose (poetry) [verb (transitive)] > join verses or rhymes
tag1720
1720 D. Manley Power of Love p. viii Adjusted into proper Periods, with necessary Monosylables to tag them together.
1752 H. Fielding Amelia III. viii. v. 149 I have been sometimes longer in tagging a Couplet, than I have been in writing a Speech.
1849 C. Brontë Shirley III. vii. 159 He writes verses, they say—tags rhymes.
1887 J. R. Lowell Democracy & Other Addr. 207 It shows a pretty knack at tagging verses.
c. intransitive. To serve as a tag (in a verse, etc.).
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1878 R. Browning Poets Croisic lxxiv Thetis, who Is either Tethys or as good—both tag.
4.
a. To trail or drag behind; to follow closely, follow in one's train. Frequently const. after, along, (a)round, on. Also figurative.
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the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > follow behind [verb (intransitive)]
followOE
to follow ona1325
suec1390
ensuec1500
to follow alonga1594
tag1676
hark after1899
the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > follow behind [verb (intransitive)] > follow closely
to tread on any one's heels or toesc1384
hang?a1513
dog1519
tag1676
to be on someone's tail1925
to be on someone's wheel1941
1676 W. Wycherley Plain-dealer i. i I hate a harness, and will not tag on in a faction, kissing my leader behind, that another slave may do the like to me.
1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature (1834) I. 596 They range the world with a boisterous rabble tagging at their heels.
c1794 Search after Perfect i. iv, in New Brit. Theatre (1814) III. 55 Why should a nurse and child come tagging after her?
1822 J. F. Cooper Spy II. xii. 307 Pooh! Pooh!..if you tag after a troop of horse, a small bit of a joke must be borne.
1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous ix. 214 Don't go taggin' araound after them whose eyes bung out with fatness.
1900 G. Ade More Fables (1902) 113 The men..wanted to Tag along, but Clara drove them back.
1902 E. Banks Autobiogr. Newspaper Girl 24 I'm an American girl and can take care of myself, and I won't have anybody tagging round after me.
1930 J. Dos Passos 42nd Parallel ii. xi. 164 She followed his talk breathless the way she used to tag along after Joe and Alec down to the carbarns when she was little.
1933 D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise iii. 41 He used to tag round with that de Momerie crowd.
1946 ‘P. Quentin’ Puzzle for Fiends (1947) ix. 70 So you're ready to tag along with me, eh, Gordy?
1948 C. Day Lewis Otterbury Incident 43 Toppy's kid sister..tagged on, which was rather a bore.
1957 Economist 23 Nov. 661/2 There is a Yemeni home public. Its upper crust has been most critical of the recent tendency to tag along with Egypt and do deals, including an arms deal, with Russia.
1960 S. Barstow Kind of Loving i. vi. 126 Two or three more people sitting outside the room where they actually take the blood. Me and the Old Man tag on to the line.
1960 L. Cooper Accomplices i. iv. 37 He was sick of the sight of those damned Batemans... Couldn't we ever go anywhere without them tagging on?
1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day ii. 44 I would tag around with him, hardly understanding a word he said because of his thick East-Anglian dialect.
1973 J. Pattinson Search Warrant v. 80 I guess I'll tag along. Just for the ride.
b. transitive. To follow closely, to dog. Also spec., to follow as a detective or spy. Cf. tag n.1 13, tail v.1 5b.
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the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > follow [verb (transitive)] > follow closely
to foot and handc1300
to follow foot-hot1513
shadow1602
tantony1675
to stick to ——1801
to tread or follow on the kibes of1820
bedog1858
tag1884
hotfoot1902
society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > investigate or discover as a detective [verb (transitive)] > follow
tail1907
tag1966
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > procedures used in spying > surveillance [verb (transitive)] > follow
tail1907
tag1966
1884 C. H. Farnham in Harper's Mag. Feb. 394/1 The Indians are wandering.., tagged at their heels by death and starvation.
1966 ‘A. Hall’ 9th Directive vii. 63 Why did you tag me here?
1975 ‘A. Hall’ Mandarin Cypher viii. 123 If I thought I was tagged here because Chiang had blown me I was wrong.
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the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > hang or be suspended [verb (intransitive)] > hang down > trailingly
trikea1350
trilla1400
trailc1412
train1584
dragglec1594
tag1617
traipsea1777
streel1847
trape1875
1617 J. Moore Mappe Mans Mortal. ii. viii. 153 They which weare long garments..doe take and gird them vp, lest they should tag in the way.
6. transitive. To cut off tags from (sheep).
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > sheep-farming > sheep-shearing > shear sheep [verb (transitive)] > manner, technique, or part
beard1429
belt?1523
feazea1642
shirl1688
dag1706
tag1707
clat1838
tomahawk1859
rough1878
to open up1886
pink1897
crutch1915
barrow1933
slum1965
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) I. 243 Before they are shorn, great care ought to be taken to tag them, as they call it, which is to clip away the Wooll of their Tails, and behind, that the Dung may not hang on it.
1853 T. D. Price Diary 17 Mar. (MS.) Tagged the ewes in the forenoon.
1863 H. S. Randall Pract. Shepherd iii. 141 Tagging sheep before they are let out to grass.
a1890 [implied in: New Amer. Farm Bk. 436 (Cent. Dict.) Tagging or clotting is the removal of such wool as is liable to get fouled when the sheep are turned on to the fresh pastures. (at tagging n. a)].
Draft additions 1993
To decorate with a graffiti tag or tags. Also absol. slang (originally U.S.).
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society > communication > writing > written text > an inscription > inscribe [verb (transitive)] > inscribe with graffiti tag or tags
tag1980
1980 N.Y. Times Mag. 19 Oct. 50/5 SE 3, a 19-year-old graffiti graduate, remembers tagging around his family's brownstone on the Upper West Side.
1985 Chicago Tribune 7 July iii. 5/1 For nearly a year, the seven-member Graffiti Groove Crew has been tagging doors, garages, buses, elevated train stations and just about everything else with their logo.
1987 Guardian 14 Oct. 13/5 Danny's friends had talked of how they hated this man..and would love to tag his house.
1990 New Musical Express 28 July 10/1 Rap Kids don't drink much and were once inclined to tag previously paint-free walls.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
tagv.2
1. transitive. To touch or hit (a person), as in the game of tag; = tig v.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > hiding or chasing game > [verb (transitive)] > tag
tig1821
tag1878
tick1913
1878 F. H. Hart Sazerac Lying Club 166 One of them, who had been ‘tagged’ seven times in succession, got tired, and proposed to change to playing house.
1891 Jrnl. Amer. Folk-lore 4 222 One player, who is ‘it’, attempts to tag, or touch, one of the other players.
1969 I. Opie & P. Opie Children's Games ii. 64 In Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire, and Oxfordshire, they speak of ‘tagging’ each other.
2. Baseball and Softball.
a. To put out (a runner) by touching him with the ball (or with the gloved hand holding the ball) while he is off base. Also with out. Cf. tag n.2 2.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > play baseball [verb (transitive)] > put out > a runner
peg1862
nip1868
to throw out1876
nail1888
to pick off1888
tag1907
1907 ‘B. L. Standish’ Dick Merriwell's Magnetism xxxviii. 243 He tagged Spratt, and this made the second man out.
1944 E. S. Gardner Case of Black-eyed Blonde 64 Keep cutting corners, Mason, and I'm going to catch you off first base one of these days, and then I'll tag you out.
1971 L. Koppett N.Y. Times Guide Spectator Sports i. 21 No one is attempting to tag him.
1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 28 June 1- c/2 (caption) Dave Konzen, of Buck's Bar slow pitch softball team, is tagged out as he slides against Heidelberg of Tacoma, Wash.
1982 S. B. Flexner Listening to Amer. 34 Someone had the bright idea of forcing the runner out by throwing the ball to the base ahead of him or by tagging him with the ball rather than throwing the ball at him.
b. intransitive. to tag up: of a runner to (return to and) touch one's base after a fly ball is caught.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > play baseball [verb (intransitive)] > action of runner
overrun1612
slide1891
pinch-run1919
reach1932
to tag up1942
1942 Baseball Digest Dec. 52 Fletcher tagged up at third after the catch and then started for the plate.
1971 L. Koppett N.Y. Times Guide Spectator Sports i. 20 The runner ‘tags up’, waits at his base until the ball is caught, and still beats the throw to the next base.
1978 G. Wright Illustr. Handbk. Sporting Terms 89/2 If the ball is caught..the base runners, unless tagging up.., may not advance.
c. transitive. To make a hit or run off (a pitcher).
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > play baseball [verb (transitive)] > actions of batter
pop1867
foul1870
poke1880
pole1882
bunch1883
line1887
to foul off1888
rip1896
sacrifice1905
pickle1906
to wait out1909
pull1912
single1916
pinch-hit1929
nub1948
tag1961
tomahawk1978
1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang.
1974 Greenville (S. Carolina) News 23 Apr. 8/5 Seaver was taken out of the game after being tagged for hits by the first two batters in the Pittsburgh sixth.
Draft additions 1993
b. Boxing. To strike (an opponent), esp. with a powerful blow. slang (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > box [verb (transitive)] > actions
parry1672
punish1801
pink1810
shy1812
sling1812
mug1818
weave1818
prop1846
feint1857
counter1861
cross-counter1864
slip1897
hook1898
unload1912
to beat a person to the punch1923
mitt1930
tag1938
counterpunch1964
1938 N.Y. Times 18 Aug. 24/4 Ambers hooked a left to the jaw... He then tagged the Negro with a hard left to the jaw.
1959 Sat. Evening Post 26 Sept. 75/2 ‘You were very good, Eddie.’..‘No. It was just that no one had ever tagged him before.’
1986 Ring Aug. 10/3 If he fights me like he fought Colin Jones, I'll beat him. And if I tag him the way I tagged Shufford, he'll go down.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online September 2019).
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n.11402
n.2adj.1738n.31914v.11617
v.21878