† vaguen.1
Obsolete.
A prank or trick. Only in plural Frequently in the second quarter of the 16th cent., esp. in the phrase to play one's vagues, with which to take one's vagues appears to be synonymous.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > frolicking or romping > [noun] > a frolic
oliprancec1390
ragerya1393
vague1523
rex1566
friskin1570
gambol1573
reak1573
prank1576
vagary1588
whirligig1589
caper1592
prinkum-prankum1596
firk1611
frolica1635
carryings-on1663
ramp1696
romp1713
freak1724
scheme1758
rig1782
lark1811
escapade1814
gammock1819
gambade1821
enfantillage1827
game1828
shines1830
rollick1834
rusty1835
high jinksa1845
escapado1849
shenanigan1855
rum-tum1876
panta1901
gas1914
(a)
(b)1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. CCiiv She dispiseth all outwarde vages and vanytees, & is content to fulfyll all that her lady commaundeth.a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Fiii Because of theyr neglygence & of theyr wanton vagys I vysyte them and stryke them with many sore plagys.1523 in State Papers Henry VIII (1849) VI. 200 Thei thought that Columpna had..takyn so his vages against the said Cardinall de Medyces..that the said Columpna dorst never have trustyd..hymself aftir in the desperat handes of the Cardinall.
1528 Rede me & be nott Wrothe sig. i vi Yf they playe thus their vages, They shall not escape the plages, Which to theym of Rome happened.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cclijv The Scottes had some leysure to play their vagues, and folowe their accustomed manier.
?1567 M. Parker Whole Psalter ciiii. 296 There playth his vages: Leuiathan.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
vaguen.3
/vɑːɡ/ A movement, trend, vogue. Cf. nouvelle vague n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [noun] > the or a prevailing fashion
gentryc1400
the fashion1569
mainstream1599
the trim1603
mood1646
mode1649
vogue1649
beauty1653
à la mode1654
turn1695
the kick1699
goût1717
thing1734
taste1739
ton1769
nick1788
the tippy1790
twig1811
latest1814
dernier mot1834
ticket1838
kibosh1880
last cry1887
le (or the) dernier cri1896
flavour of the month (or week)1946
vague1962
1962 John o' London's 19 Apr. 371/3 Here is one requisite which must be regarded as essential in any new vague. It must not, whatever else it is, be vague.
1970 R. Lowell Notebk. 219 The vague, the vogue, what do they tell the critic?
1974 Times Lit. Suppl. 20 Dec. 1439/4 He has beautifully caught the old Hungarian vague of British cinema under Alexander Korda... The Hungarian vague also swept on to the Denham studio floor such interesting flotsam as Gabriel Pascal.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2018).
vagueadj.adv.n.2
/veɪɡ/, U.S. /veɪɡ/ 1. Of statements, etc.: Couched in general or indefinite terms; not definitely or precisely expressed; deficient in details or particulars.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adjective] > not specified > indefinite
gross1534
indefinite1561
indefinitive1598
general1601
loose1609
undetermined1611
vaguea1661
indeterminate1773
tenuousa1817
vaguish1818
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > obscurity > [adjective] > vague or inexplicit
oblique?a1475
overthwart1545
indirect1584
slenting1642
undeterminate1649
vaguea1661
wide1662
indeterminate1773
unexplicit1775
nebulose1799
imprecise1805
misty1816
nebulous1817
inexplicit1827
fuzzy1937
soft-focused1942
wifty-wafty1943
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Durh. 298 With subtilty not light, slight, vage as air, But such as Truth doth crown.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 76. ⁋8 Men often extenuate their own guilt, only by vague and general charges upon others.
1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 521 Their answers, vague, And all at random.
1844 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece VIII. 179 He remained inflexible, covering his refusal with the vague pretext, ‘that circumstances were not in his power’.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 400 He wanted..to have, not vague professions of good will, but distinct invitations and promises of support.
1884 Law Times Rep. 49 773/2 The statement of claim is so vague that we had to go into detail, so as to make the case clear.
2. Of words, language, etc.: Not precise or exact in meaning.
ΚΠ
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding To Rdr. sig. a2 Vague and insignificant Forms of Speech, and Abuse of Language, have so long passed for Mysteries of Science.
1744 J. Harris Three Treat. i. 5 So it was..with a thousand Words beside, all no less common, and equally familiar; and yet all of them equally vague and undetermined.
a1781 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip III (1783) iii. 204 It was conceived in vague and general terms.
1794 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral. (ed. 2) I. Pref. p. xi Its descriptive language was..arbitrary, vague and ambiguous.
1813 J. Thomson Lect. Inflammation 502 By an indiscriminate use of vague terms.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 152 These vague phrases were not likely to quiet the perturbed mind of the minister.
1870 F. W. Farrar Families of Speech iii. 118 But the name Chaldee is so vague and misleading that I have purposely excluded it.
1900 E. Holmes What is Poetry? 79 Vague words, then, stir emotion; exact terms repress it.
3.
a.
(a) Of ideas, knowledge, etc.: Lacking in definiteness or precision: indefinite, indistinct.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > insecure knowledge, uncertainty > [adjective] > obscure, vague
cloudyc1400
indeterminatec1400
diffuse1430
diffused?1456
obscure?a1475
infinite1520
ambiguous1529
indistincta1530
nubilous1533
dark1557
undetermined1588
undefinite1589
undeterminate1603
indetermined1611
undefined1611
suspense1624
umbrageous1635
clouded1641
undeterminated1641
fuliginous1646
implicit1660
vague1690
diffusive1709
nubilose1730
foggy1737
unliquidated1780
hazy1781
indecisive1815
nebulous1817
penumbral1819
aoristic1846
scumbled1868
nubiform1873
out-of-focus1891
fuzzy1937
soft focus1938
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. vii. 300 These vague Ideas, signified by the terms Whatsoever, and Thing.
1753 W. Hogarth Anal. Beauty 7 So vague is taste, when it has no solid principles for its foundation.
1792 M. Wollstonecraft Vindic. Rights Woman v. 186 Though prudence of this sort be termed a virtue, morality becomes vague when any part is supposed to rest on falsehood.
1806 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. VI. 158 The metes and bounds of property would be vague and indeterminate.
1845 G. Budd On Dis. Liver 2 To the vague and unsatisfactory state of our knowledge respecting them.
a1881 A. Barratt Physical Metempiric (1883) 156 Beyond this we only get a vague analogy.
(b) Used in superlative with ellipsis of idea, notion; cf. faint adj. 5d.
ΚΠ
1968 N. Marsh Clutch of Constables viii. 201 ‘Have you seen this particular photograph, Mr Pollock?’.. ‘Haven't the vaguest.’
1981 D. Uhnak False Witness (1982) xi. 94 ‘Any particular place your customers go on Tuesday nights?’ ‘I haven't the vaguest.’
b. Similarly of feelings or sensations.
ΚΠ
1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 106 [He was] trembling with a new and vague apprehension.
1837 W. Irving Adventures Capt. Bonneville III. 256 Their movements not only give a vague alarm, but..will even indicate to the knowing trapper the very quarter whence danger threatens.
1845 G. Budd On Dis. Liver 387 The patient's illness begins with general disorder;..vague pains in the belly, and sometimes with vomiting.
1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt I. i. 29 The vague but strong feeling that her son was a stranger to her.
1885 E. Clodd Myths & Dreams i. §6. 111 Man's sense of vague wonder in the presence of powers whose force he cannot measure.
4. † a. vague acid n. (see quots.). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > acids > [noun] > acids-named > other named acids
Stygian water1638
mineral acid1700
vague acid1741
manganesic acid1789
caseic acid1810
botulinic acid1832
mechloic acid1836
dialuric acid1839
sericic acid1841
allanturic acid1842
allituric acid1846
ricinostearic acid1849
ricinolic acid1851
cellulic acid1859
digitalinic acid1861
carbonic acid1867
perboric acid1881
mechlorinic acid1890
nitrolic acid1892
perrhenic acid1929
rhenic acid1931
pertechnetic acid1962
1741 P. Shaw tr. H. Boerhaave New Method Chem. (ed. 2) I. 112 Of the Vague Acid. The vague volatile liquid acid, found perhaps every where in mines.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Vague Acid, a term much used by the modern chemists, and signifying a certain volatile fluid salt or acid, supposed to be found every where in mines, and in combination with different other substances, to form many of the ordinary compound fossils.
1765 Philos. Trans. 1764 (Royal Soc.) 54 45 A Belemnite, whose laminæ were in a manner dissected and laid open by the vague acid,..which every where pervades the earth, destroying some bodies, and forming others.
b. Botany. (See quot. 1842.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > seed > plant having seed > [adjective] > with apparently unrelated embryo and pericarp
vague1842
1842 A. Gray Bot. Text-bk. i. x. 166 Vague, when the radicle bears no evident or uniform relation of this kind to the pericarp.
5. Lacking physical definiteness of form or outline; indistinctly seen or perceived; formless, obscure, shadowy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > [adjective] > indistinct
dimc1000
blinda1398
undistingued1398
obscure?a1450
undistinct1495
shadowed1588
undistinguishable1600
shady1626
blear1637
filmed1637
indistinguishable1642
crepusculous1646
adumbrated1650
oblite1650
faint1660
monogrammous1678
blurred1701
faintish1712
wispya1717
adumbrant1727
muzzy1744
indistinct1764
fuzzy1778
misty1797
shadowy1797
undistinguished1814
woolly1815
vague1822
furzy1825
mystified1833
slurred1843
feeble1860
smudginga1861
filmy1864
smudgy1865
blurry1884
slurry1937
the world > space > shape > lack of shape > [adjective] > without clearly defined shape
indistinguishable1609
uncertain1638
vague1822
unsharp1889
1822 ‘B. Cornwall’ Flood of Thessaly i. 3 Chaos, touched with light and form, Lost its vague being.
1849 M. Somerville On Connexion Physical Sci. (ed. 8) 433 These are in every state of condensation, from a vague film hardly to be discerned to such as have actually arrived at a solid nucleus of stars.
1879 T. H. Huxley Hume iv. 96 We travel through countries where every feature of the scenery is vague.
6.
a. Of persons, the mind, etc.: Unable to think with clearness or precision; indefinite or inexact in thought or statement.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > [adjective]
orrathc1175
unsicker?c1225
doubtousc1374
doubtive1393
unsurec1412
uncertained1470
doubtful1509
unassured1528
scriple?a1534
unpersuadeda1535
uncertainc1540
scrupulous1559
unsatisfied1575
unresolved1587
incertaina1616
dubious1632
scrupling1641
hesitant1647
insecure1649
hesitatious1657
uncleara1658
groping1691
doubting1715
dubitative1728
gingerish1764
vague1806
duberous1818
dubitant1821
undecided1828
inconclusive1836
foreheadless1844
titubant1880
convictionless1882
swithering1917
1806–20 W. Wordsworth River Duddon xxvi Random cares and truant joys, That shield from mischief and preserve from stains Vague minds, while men are growing out of boys.
1827 T. Carlyle Richter in Edinb. Rev. June 186 Richter has..an imagination vague, sombre, splendid, or appalling.
1847 A. Helps Friends in Council I. i. viii. 142 The sharp practice of the world drives some logic into the most vague of men: women are not so schooled.
b. poetic. Of the eyes: Devoid of expression. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [adjective] > by size, shape, etc.
steepc1000
standing1340
glazenc1380
glassy1412
ungladlyc1450
sparklinga1500
goggle1540
pinking1566
whally1590
vailed1591
unweeping1598
dejected1600
unwet1601
glossed1602
haggard1605
saucer-like1612
saucer1618
glaring1622
uncast1629
startling1648
poppinga1696
upraised1707
glancy1733
glazed1735
almond1786
open-eyed1799
bald1807
glazing1808
lustreless1810
unfathomable1817
vague1820
soulless1824
beady1826
socketless1833
fishy1836
glazy1838
popped1849
agoggled1860
uprolled1864
unfaceted1893
shoe-button1895
poppy1899
googly1901
slitty1908
bead-berry1923
1820 J. Keats Eve of St. Agnes in Lamia & Other Poems 87 She danc'd along with vague, regardless eyes.
7. † a. ? Vagrant, vagabond. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [adjective] > with no fixed aim or wandering > as a vagabond or tramp
vagrant1461
loiteringa1533
way-walkinga1535
roguing1566
roguish1572
vagabondical1576
vagabond1585
vagabondinga1586
land-loping1587
vagrom1600
leap-land1614
vagabondial1615
vaguea1627
gangrel1650
vagabondious1661
going1737
gang-there-out1815
tramping1828
vagabondizing1830
pikey1838
beachcombing1845
runagate1877
going-about1886
bummy1890
a1627 J. Hayward Life & Raigne Edward Sixt (1630) 63 The Lord Gray encouraged his men to set sharpely upon the vague villaines, good neither to liue peaceably nor to fight.
b. Of the Egyptian month or year: Beginning at varying seasons; movable, shifting.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > particular time > [adjective] > changing from one date to another every year
movablea1382
vaguea1656
a1656 J. Ussher Ann. World (1658) 762 The beginnings of these years being taken from the first of the vage or moveable moneth Thoth of the Egyptians.
1860 R. S. Poole in W. Smith Dict. Bible I. 506/1 The Vague Year contained 365 days without any additional fraction, and therefore passed through all the seasons in about 1500 years.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 665 This [Egyptian] year is called vague, by reason of its commencing sometimes at one season of the year, and sometimes at another.
8.
a. As adv. Vaguely; indistinctly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > faintness or weakness > [adverb]
dimly?c1225
dim1393
remissly1530
murmuringly1611
faintly1800
vague1864
1864 H. W. Longfellow Wind over Chimney ix The night-wind drear Clamours louder, wilder, vaguer.
b. In combinations, as vague-hovering, vague-looking, vague-menacing, vague-sailing, vague-shining, etc.
ΚΠ
1856 R. A. Vaughan Hours with Mystics (1860) I. 238 In this wild Universe of ours, storming-in, vague-menacing, it is enough if you shall find..existence.
1871 J. Hay Pike County Ballads (1880) 90 Vague-hovering o'er her form..A warmer and a dearer charm.
1871 J. Hay Pike County Ballads (1880) 95 Vague-sailing, where the feathery clouds Fleck white the tranquil skies.
1879 E. Dowden Southey vii. 196 Will-o'-the-wisp, vague-shining theories that beguile night wanderers.
1904 W. H. Hudson Green Mansions vi. 82 How different she seemed now; the brilliant face grown so pallid and vague-looking!
1948 W. Lewis Let. 25 Oct. (1963) 469 This super-dream..is I imagine too vague-looking to be practical.
9.
a. absol. as n., esp. the vague, the vague aspect or consideration of things. in the vague, in a vague or indefinite state or condition, uncertain; without entering into details or particulars, in general.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > in general [phrase] > in general terms or not in detail
in substancec1425
in gross1430
at large1533
generally speaking1549
in generality1563
in the general1584
as to the general1617
in general1621
by and large1707
in the vague1851
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > indefiniteness > that which is indefinite
indefinite1591
vagueness1838
the vague1851
1851 T. Carlyle Life J. Sterling i. xii. 111 A gifted amiable being,..in danger of dissipating himself into the vague.
1856 J. W. Carlyle Lett. II. 280 My plans are still in the vague; I feel no haste to ‘see my way’.
1881 D. Masson De Quincey 196 The meaning is all but lost in a mere vague of music.
1882 A. Bain James Mill i. 13 All this is completely in the vague.
1894 Month Oct. 207 We must take them rather in the vague.
b. The vague or uncertain future. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [noun] > the indefinite future
mañana1845
vague1865
1865 J. W. Carlyle Lett. III. 260 Dr. B. is postponed into the vague.
c. The vague or undefined expanse of something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > [noun] > undefined space or extent
vague1870
1870 J. R. Lowell My Study Windows 90 The great Genoese did not draw that first star-guided furrow across the vague of waters.
1875 J. Ruskin Lect. Art (ed. 2) vi. 169 The shadows lost or disregarded in the vague of space.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
vaguev.1
/veɪɡ/, U.S. /veɪɡ/ Chiefly Scottish. Now rare or Obsolete. † b. In figurative use. Obsolete.
a. intransitive. To wander; to range, roam; to ramble idly or as a vagrant.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [verb (intransitive)] > with no fixed aim or wander
wharvec890
woreOE
wandera1000
rengec1230
wagc1325
roamc1330
errc1374
raikc1390
ravec1390
rumblec1400
rollc1405
railc1425
roit1440
waverc1440
rangea1450
rove1481
to-waver1487
vaguea1525
evague1533
rangle1567
to go a-strayinga1586
vagary1598
divagate1599
obambulate1614
vagitate1614
ramble1615
divage1623
pererrate1623
squander1630
peramble1632
rink1710
ratch1801
browse1803
vagrate1807
bum1857
piroot1858
scamander1864
truck1864
bat1867
vagrant1886
float1901
vagulate1918
pissant1945
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [verb (intransitive)] > with no fixed aim or wander > idly
roil?c1335
gada1500
stavera1500
vaguea1525
scoterlope1574
idle1599
haika1605
saunter1671
stravaig1801
palmer1805
streel1805
taver1808
traik1818
gander1822
gallivant1823
gilravage1825
project1828
daud1831
meander1831
to knock about1833
to kick about1839
to knock round1848
piroot1858
sashay1865
june1869
tootle1902
slop1907
beetle1919
stooge1941
swan1942
α.
β. 1587 Sc. Acts, Jas. VI c. 119 ⁋12 Thay sall remane within this realme..and sall not vaig thairfra.c1639 W. Mure Psalmes cix. 10 in Wks. (1898) II. 169 Still vaige, and sharke, and beg about, Their bounds lay'd waist, they may.1647 Aberd. Rec. in Aberd. Jrnl. Notes & Queries (1908) I. 16/1 That all persones..heir the word of God, and not vaig nor goe to the old toun.1801 J. Leyden in Complaynt Scotl. Gloss. 379 To vaig is in common use, as well as stravaig.γ. 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxiii. xlii. 503 To..suppresse these robbers that vague about our country.1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxxi. xxi. 785 They vagued to and fro in scattering wise up and downe the countrey a foraging.a1653 Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 121 Thou idle boy thus vagueing here and there.1678 G. Mackenzie Laws & Customes Scotl. ii. 531 If they were necessitated to vague up and down at all Courts, upon all occasions.1766 A. Nichol Poems 2 Thus through the country I went vaguing.1786 in Old Ch. Life Scotl. (1885) 320 The profanation of this holy day by idly vaguing together.1874 L. Troubridge Life amongst Troubridges (1966) 88 We vagued about until tea-time.a1525 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Lansdowne) x. l. 3394 [Fra lande to lande In habyt of monk was] vagand [a1500 Nero wauerande].
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xiii. 87 Quhen metellus hed vagit vp and doune there ane lang tyme.
1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Loue f. 2 Euill disposed persons vage and wander abroad at midnight.
ΚΠ
1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Bj Should I goe wryte at Randonne tho, And vage abroade, and raue?
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 289 [He] louset a brydle to thame to vaig in quhat Lust or leicherie lyket thame best.
a1614 J. Melville Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) 445 The King sould be judge if a Minister vag from his text.
1641 R. Baillie Parallel Compar. Liturgie with Masse-bk. v. 39 In these conceats all of them agree to vage.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
vaguev.2
/veɪɡ/, U.S. /veɪɡ/ rare.
intransitive. To act or write vaguely; to be vague or indefinite.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > doubt, be uncertain [verb (intransitive)] > express doubt
perhaps1783
humph1814
vague1880
umph1894
to (light up and) say ‘tilt’1974
1880 Cornhill Mag. Dec. 649 I have vagued away in a sort of circle round my diaries still heaped on the floor, and Josephine standing between me and the lamp.
1894 R. C. Praed Christina Chard I. 123 I've vagued all my life—that's been my curse.
1894 R. C. Praed Christina Chard I. 128 You are to fulfil yourself. You are to ‘vague’ no more.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.11523
n.31962
adj.adv.n.2a1627v.1a1525
v.21880