▪ I. stag, n.1
(stæg)
Forms: α. ? 2 acc. staggon, 4–7 stagge, (4 staghe), 6–8 stagg, 4– stag. β. 5–7 stage; also (sense 2 only) 6 north. staige, 7 staeg, 5– Sc. staig.
[Prob. repr. OE. *stacga (stagga) weak masc.; cf. various other names of animals, docga dog, frocga frog, *picga pig, wicga beetle. The word seems to have meant properly a male animal in its prime; cf. the various senses below and the cognate ON. steggi, stegg-r (Norw. stegg) male bird, mod.Icel. stegg-r tom-cat, formerly also male fox: see steg n.
There is no ground for the current statement that stag is of Scandinavian origin, though some of the senses below may be due to confusion with steg.]
1. a. The male of a deer, esp. of the red deer; spec. a hart or male deer of the fifth year. (In the 15th c. † stag of a hart.)
| α ? c 1185 Pseudo-Cnut Constit. de Foresta xxiv. in Liebermann Gesetze der Ags. (1903) I. 624 (Stowe MS., late 16th c.) Regalem feram, quam Angli a staggon [Camb. MS. c. 1570 Astaggon, Harrison 1577 staggon] appellant. c 1400 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) ii, Þe first yere þat thei [harts] be calfede, þei be ycalle a calfe þe secund yere a bulloke..þe thred yere a broket, þe iiii. yere a stagard, þe v. yere a stagge, þe vi. yere an herte of .x. 14.. Chaucer's Sqr.'s T., heading of Part 11, MSS. Petworth & Corpus, The Stag of an hert. 1473 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 98/2 Oure Graunte.., of a Tonne Wyne, and a Stagge of an Hert. 1576 Turberv. Venerie xxii. (1908) 62 If you find together the footing of two stagges. Ibid. lxxix. 237 An Hart is called the firste yeare a Calfe..the fourth a Staggerd, the fifth a Stagge, and..the sixth..an Hart. 1584 Powell Lloyd's Cambria 157 William Rufus was slaine by an Arrowe shot at a Stagge. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. Induct. ii. 50 Thy gray-hounds are as swift As breathed Stags I fleeter then the Roe. 1613 Drayton Polyolb. xii. 523 Those fallow Deere, and huge-hancht Stags that graz'd Vpon her shaggy Heaths. c 1643 Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 88 Forests and Chases which were well stored with wild Boar and Stag. 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 469 The swift Stag from under ground Bore up his branching head. 1735 Somerville Chase i. 283 [The] stately Stag, that o'er the Woodland reigns. 1821 Shelley Hellas 537 The tiger leagues not with the stag at bay Against the hunter. 1863 Lyell Antiq. Man 23 Venison, or the flesh of the stag and roe, was more eaten. 1877 Encycl. Brit. VII. 23/2 The Red Deer or Stag..the largest of the British deer, is a native of the temperate regions of Europe and Northern Asia. 1908 Blackw. Mag. July 105/2 A herd of fourteen reindeer was seen... The horns of the entire band—for the hinds carry them as well as the stags—were still in velvet. |
| β 1546 Plumpton Corr. (Camden) 250, I must..ride to Tankerslay..& se a showt at a stage, as my keper hath sent me wourd. c 1550 Battle of Otterburn iii. in Child Ballads III. 295/1 Vpon Grene Lynton they lyghted dowyn, Styrande many a stage [rime crage]. |
b. fig. Also in phrases
† to go in stag: To go naked.
† to make (a husband) a stag,
to make to wear the stag's crest = to cuckold. (
Obs.)
| 1591 Florio 2nd Fruites 143 What dooth she make him weare the staggs crest then? 1602 Dekker Satirom. F 3, No, come my little Cub, doe not scorne mee because I goe in Stag, in Buffe, heer's veluet too. 1610 B. Jonson Alch. i. ii, Dap. Yes, but I'ld ha' you Vse M{supr} Doctor, with some more respect. Fac. Hang him proud Stagg, with his broad veluet head. 1659 T. Pecke Parnassi Puerp. 30 Paulina her first husband made a Stag. 1935 T. S. Eliot Murder in Cathedral i. 29 Cabined in Canterbury, realmless ruler, Self-bound servant of a powerless Pope, The old stag, circled with hounds. |
c. In the names of various species of the genus
Cervus, as
Axis Stag, an Indian deer (
C. axis),
Carolina Stag, the North American Wapiti (
C. canadensis); see also
quot. 1896.
| 1859 Wood Illustr. Nat. Hist. I. 693 The Wapiti or Carolina Stag. 1895 Outing Apr. 4/2 An axis stag glanced across the nala. 1896 Lydekker Brit. Mammals 242 Of the allied species, we may mention by name the..Thian Shan Stag (C. eustephanus), the Kashmir Stag (C. cashmirianus)..and the Lhasa Stag (C. thoroldi). |
d. The flesh of the stag; venison.
rare—1.
| 1787 A. C. Borrer Diaries & Corr. (1903) 71 He has given us twice Stag since I have been here. |
e. The horn of the stag, as a material for handles of cutlery. Also
attrib.| 1876 Callis Cutlery (Brit. Manuf. Industr.) 173 Scales of wood and composition, pressed to imitate stag and buffalo, have been introduced for common goods. |
† f. transf. flying stag, the
stag-beetle.
Obs.| 1658 Moufet Theat. Ins. i. xxi. 1005 The πλατύκερως, or Harts horn Beetle... Some call it the Bull, others the flying Stag... The French, Cerf volant; the English, Stag-fly, or Flying-fly. |
2. north. and
Sc. A young horse,
esp. one unbroken.
| α 1318 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 373 In primis sunt..2 stagges masculi, 1 pullanus masculus. 1346–7 in Finchale Priory Charters, etc. (Surtees) p. xxvi, Item unus staggus masculi unius anni. 1363 Ibid. p. lxi, ij staghes ætatis duorum annorum. 1439–40 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 409 Item 1 equa cum 1 stag ijor annorum. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xxx. 227 Vnethes may I wag, man for wery in youre stabill Whiles I set my stag, man. 1483 Cath. Angl. 358/1 A sstagge, pullus. 1514 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) V. 60 To Thomas, my sone, a stagge to make hym an horrse off. 1522 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees) I. 106 To John Cowndon..a colt stagge. 1565 Ibid. 245 Item I gyue to thomas pereson my graye fillie stagg. 1684 Meriton Praise Ale (1685) 105 A Stag is a young Colt. 1778 J. Mill Diary (S.H.S. 1889) 55 [The losses of horses and cattle] were soon supplied by the purchase of three cows and two pretty young staggs. 1788 W. H. Marshall Yorksh. II. 355 Stag; a young horse. |
| β 1478 in Acta Audit. (1839) 82/1 For a meire & a staig xl s. 1540 N.C. Wills (Surtees) 170 To Mathew Hynde, xl s., a fely stage. 1558 in J. Croft Excerpta Anat. (1797) 28 Item, a Bay Stoned Staige. a 1585 Montgomerie Flyting w. Polwart 395 Some [witches], on steid of a staig, ouer a starke monke straide. 1617 in Extracts Rec. Convent. Burghs Scot. (1878) III. 47 Ilk ox, kow, horse, stote, meir, staeg. 1654 Ibid. III. 388 Item, of ilk hors, meir or stage, going to the mercat, 1s. 1792 Burns Kellyburn Braes iv, It's neither your stot nor your staig I shall crave..But gie me your wife, man. 1812 Chalmers Let. in Life (1851) I. 309 The staigs were returned to the glebe. |
| Proverbs. 1857 J. Miller Alcohol (1858) 123 Keep strong drink from the lad and the boy, ‘Corn is not for staigs’. 1899 J. Spence Shetl. Folk-lore 228 There's aye watter whaar the staig smores. |
3. An animal castrated when full grown.
a. A bull; more fully
bull stag. Now
dial.,
Sc. and
Australian.
| α 1680, 1776 Bull stag [see bull n.1 11]. 1787 Winter Syst. Husb. 284 A dairyman's six heavy bull stags..broke over a well secured fence into my field of wheat. 1884 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Melb. Mem. xvii. 123, I just recollect that blue stag... Was he in the mob you saw? 1886 W. Somerset Word-bk., Stag, a castrated bull. The term is applied to any animal emasculated after maturity. 1894 Harper's Mag. Feb. 354 They require work-steers to do their ploughing and Mr. Bell has brought up half a dozen old ‘stags’. |
| β 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xiv, He returned..muttering that he thought he heard the ‘young staig loose in the byre’. 1822 ― Pirate xxx, The air and bearing of a bull-dog, whilk I have seen loosed at a fair upon a mad staig. 1856 Morton Cycl. Agric. II. 726/1 In Scot., Staig. Bull-staig is a castrated bull. |
b. A boar, hog, or ram.
dial.| 1784 [cf. stag-hog in 9 b]. 1811 T. Davis Agric. Wilts 260 Boar stag, a castrated boar. 1851 Sternberg Northampt. Gloss., Stag, an old boar. 1863 W. Barnes Dorset Gloss., Stag, a castrated male animal; as, a ram-stag, a boar-stag, a bull-stag. |
4. Applied to the male of various birds. (
Cf. steg.)
a. A cock.
dial. Also
spec. in
Cock-fighting, a cock less than one year old.
| 1730 Cheny Hist. List Horse-matches, etc. 168 Each side shew'd some Cocks and some Staggs. 1758 [cf. stag-match in 9]. 1770 Newcastle Chron. Advt., To be fought for..on the 31st of December, Fifty pounds by cocks and stags, 3lbs. 14oz. 1815 Sporting Mag. XLVI. 59 The practice of running stags with cocks is unavoidable. 1823 ‘Jon Bee’ Dict. Turf. s.v., A young game cock—is a stag. 1886 Live Stock Jrnl. 23 July 99/1 [Letter from Devonshire] Many people who keep hens for their eggs alone do not allow a stag with them. 1894 Baring-Gould Kitty Alone I. 96 Bramber learned that day that a cock in Devonshire is entitled stag. 1902 Lindsey & Lincolnsh. Star 29 Nov. 5/2 Fowl stealing... In one case a fine buff Orpington stag has been taken. |
b. A turkey-cock of two years and upwards.
| 1819 W. & H. Rainbird Agric. Suff. (1849) 300 (E.D.D.). a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Stag, a cock turkey, killed for the table in his second year. 1849 D. J. Browne Amer. Poultry Yd. (1855) 165 note, When a cock turkey arrives at the age of two years, he is called a ‘stag’. |
† c. A young swan.
Obs. (
Cf. steg-
swan.)
| 1544 Will R. North (Somerset Ho.), My Swanne marke w{supt} all the Swannes Stagges & Signettes callid the Crow⁓fote. |
5. dial. The wren.
| a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Stag, a wren. 1885 Swainson Prov. Names Birds 35 Wren (Troglodytes parvulus), Stag, Tope (Norfolk; Cornwall). 1893 in Cozens-Hardy Broad Norfolk 51, Stag, Common Wren. |
6. dial. and
colloq. A big, romping girl; a bold woman.
| 1684 G. Meriton Yorks. Dialogue 55 Nea, nea, great stags, what a durdum thou macks! 1790 Grose Provinc. Gloss. (ed. 2), Stag,..a romping girl. 1877 F. Ross et al. Gloss. Words Holderness 135/2 Stag,..a rude, romping girl. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 425 The likes of her! Stag that one is. Stubborn as a mule! 1922 D. H. Lawrence Aaron's Rod iii. 33 She too was a tall stag of a thing. |
7. slang. [Prob. from sense 1; but the reason for the use is obscure.]
a. An informer;
esp. in phrase
to turn stag. Also see
quot. 1725.
| 1725 New Canting Dict., Stag,..as, I spy a Stag, used by..Shepherd, lately executed, when he first saw the Turnkey of Newgate, who pursu'd and took him. 1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar T., Stag, to turn stag, a rogue who impeaches his confederates. a 1826 J. Holt Mem. (1838) II. 52 We had two disturbers of the harmony of the ship; I mean two stags or informers. 1834 Ainsworth Rookwood i. viii. 217 As to clapping him in quod, he might prattle—might turn stag. 1846 J. Keegan Leg. & Poems (1907) 367 My father..became a deserter, but he was not a coward, nor..a stag. |
b. (See
quots.)
| 1823 ‘Jon Bee’ Dict. Turf, s.v., Queer bail are ‘stag’: those men who being hired at a guinea or two per oath, to swear they are worth vast sums, stand about judges' chambers in term-time. 1848 Bartlett Dict. Amer. 329 In the New York courts, a stag is the technical name for a man who is always ready to aid in proving an alibi, of course ‘for a consideration’. |
c. (See
quot. 1857.)
| 1857 Slang Dict. 20 Stag, shilling. 1887 Henley Villon's Straight Tip 15 You cannot bank a single stag. |
d. A spell of duty. (See also
quot. 1881.)
| 1881 S. Evans A.B.E. Evans's Leicestershire Words (new ed.) 255 A ‘stag’ is also one set to watch while his fellows are engaged in anything in which they wish not to be caught. 1931 Brophy & Partridge Songs & Slang Brit. Soldier: 1914–18 (ed. 3) 361 Stag, sentry-go. 1958 R. Storey Touch it Light in J. C. Trewin Plays of Year XVIII. 341 There's seven stags in the hours o' darkness and only five of you to do 'em. Somebody has to do two. 1975 A. Beevor Violent Brink iv. 97 The films would be handed in for processing when they were relieved at the end of their two hour ‘stag’. |
e. ellipt. for
stag-dinner,
-party, etc. (sense 9 c.).
N. Amer.| 1904 Brooklyn Eagle 28 May 3 The Myrtle Fishing Club will have a stag at Hurman Hub's Park this evening. 1947 Chicago Tribune 19 Oct. (Comic Suppl.) 6 The marchin' and chowder club's throwin' a stag tonight. 1971 R. Lewis Fenokee Project viii. 148 He's getting married tomorrow. Tonight he's holding his stag, and most of the men from the dam are going along. |
f. U.S. A man who attends a social function without a female partner. Also
quasi-adv. in
phr. to go stag.
| 1905 N. Davis Northerner 213 ‘No man not escorting a lady’—a stag, you know—could go upon the floor. 1905 Dialect Notes III. 21 Are you going to the dance stag? 1924 P. Marks Plastic Age xix. 210 True, he was not ‘dragging a woman’, but several of the brothers were going ‘stag’; so he felt completely at ease. 1928 Daily Express 14 Dec. 19 A needy or avaricious ‘stag’—as male dancers are called in the United States. 1948 This Week Mag. 1 May 16/3 The sign read: ‘No Stags Allowed’. 1979 R. Jaffe Class Reunion (1980) i. viii. 117 A lot of boys went to the parties stag. Social life was easy for them, not the way it was for girls, who had to wait..until someone called. 1980 R. L. Duncan Brimstone iii. 59 They're not going to let you in by yourself. They have a rule against stags. |
8. Comm. slang. a. A person who applies for an allocation of shares in a joint-stock concern solely with a view to selling immediately at a profit.
| 1845 Thackeray in Punch IX. 191 All the Stags in Capel Court. 1846 Punch X. 139 The bubble has in the mean time burst, the deposit is not paid, and the Stag..gives himself no more trouble about the scheme. 1857 Smiles Stephenson xxx. 408 Noble lords were pointed at as ‘stags’..in the share markets. 1904 Westm. Gaz. 13 Apr. 9/1 Another point in the prospectus is the attempt to discriminate between the stag and the bona-fide investor. |
b. (See
quot.)
| 1854 H. Ayres Fenn's Eng. & For. Funds 109 A Stag is one who is not a Member of the Stock Exchange, but deals outside, and is sometimes called an ‘Outsider’. |
9. attrib. and
Comb. a. similative, as
stag-eyed,
stag-necked,
stag-sure adjs.| 1826 Hood Stag-Eyed Lady 42 Therefore he chose a lady for his love, Singling from out the herd one stag-eyed dear. 1793 Holcroft Lavater's Physiogr. xl. 213 The stag-necked horse. 1896 N. Munro Lost Pibroch 69 Girls..not with a flat slouching foot on the soil, but high in the instep, bounding and stag-sure. |
b. quasi-adj. (
a)
= male, as
stag-bird,
stag harte-beest,
stag-hog,
stag-moose,
stag-swan,
stag-turkey. (
b) in sense 2, as
stag-bay,
stag-foal,
stag-horse.
| 1606 N. Riding Rec. (1883) I. 55 Unum equum testiculatum, anglice a stoned *stagg bay. |
| 1886 W. Somerset Word-bk. s.v. Stag, When applied to poultry *stag-bird is the usual term for a male kept for breeding purposes. |
| 1883 R. M. Fergusson Rambl. Sk. Far North xv. 97 May a' your mares be well to foal, An' every ane be a *staig foal. |
| 1850 R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. (ed. 2) I. 188 He had observed an old *stag hartebeest standing in the shade of some tall green bushes. |
| 1784 Young Ann. Agric. I. 124 in Britten Old Country Words (1880) 110 *Stag-hog, a boar. Suff. |
| 1857 Borrow Romany Rye I. xi. 166, I..goes into a field, suppose by night, where there is a very fine *stag horse. |
| 1721 Dudley Moose-Deer in Phil. Trans. XXXI. 166 Our Hunters have found a Buck, or *Stagg-Moose, of fourteen Spans in heighth from the Withers. |
| 1892 Tennyson Church-Warden vii, An' 'e torn'd as red as a *stag-turkey's wattles. |
c. slang (
orig. U.S.)
= pertaining to or composed of males only, as
stag-dance,
stag devilry,
stag-dinner,
stag-night,
stag-party;
freq. applied
spec. to a celebration held on the eve of a man's marriage.
Cf. hen-party s.v. hen n. 8.
| 1848 Bartlett Dict. Amer. 330 *Stag-dance, a dance performed by males only, in bar-rooms, &c. 1873 Joaquin Miller Life among Modocs viii. 94 In one of the saloons..men were wont to..have stag-dances. |
| 1911 H. S. Harrison Queed xv. 185 Buck Klinker, returning from some *stag devilry at the hour of two a.m. |
| 1889 Thompson St. Poker Club 59 Mr. Tooter Williams had been to a *stag dinner in the early evening. |
| 1965 Listener 9 Sept. 373/2 On ‘*stag nights’ it [sc. the entertainment] is pretty blue. 1973 in E. Dunphy Only a Game? (1976) iv. 110 We went out this evening for his stag night. |
| 1856 Knickerbocker Mag. Apr. 407 (Thornton Amer. Gloss.) A party of old bricks [read bucks], who, under pretence of looking at the picture, are keeping up a small *stag-party at the end of the room. 1923 ‘Bartimeus’ Seaways xii. 234 We don't want any women. We'll just have a stag party and talk Service shop and play pool afterwards. 1978 J. Wainwright Thief of Time 83, I know people... Class strippers. Stag-party hostesses. There's a real market. |
10. a. Special comb.:
stag-book Comm. slang, a book in which was entered the names of the stags or bogus shareholders (see 8);
stag-cart = deer-cart,
deer 4 b;
† stag-chase = stag-hunting;
stag-evil,
-fever (see
quots.);
stag film orig. U.S., a pornographic film made for a male audience;
† stag-fly, the stag-beetle;
stag-hafted,
-handled adjs., furnished with a haft or handle of stag-horn;
stag-hog = babiroussa;
stag-hunt, the chasing of a stag as a sport;
stag-hunter, one who hunts the stag; also, a horse used in stag-hunting;
stag-hunting, the sport of chasing the stag; an instance of this;
stag-like a., resembling a stag or that of a stag;
stag line U.S., the group of unattached young men at a social function;
† stag-match Cock-fighting, a match for young cocks (see 4 a);
stag movie orig. U.S. = stag film above;
† stag-skin, the prepared hide of a stag;
† stag-snake = Elaps;
† stag-worm (see
quot.).
| 1854 Househ. Words VIII. 470 You allotted to a great many stags, sir... Didn't you have any *stag-books when you allotted? |
| 1894 Daily News 8 Feb. 2/6 A *stag-cart of the Mid-Kent staghounds. |
| 1725 Portland Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.) VI. 87 This [park] the Duke designed as the chief nursery for his *stag-chase. |
| 1717 Solleysell Compl. Horsem., *Stag's Evil. 1759 Wallis Farrier's Dict., s.v. Convulsions, Solleysell calls this malady the stag's evil, or palsy in the jaws. 1823 J. Pursglove Pract. Farriery 81 In convulsions, or stag evil, the horse appears full of spirit. |
| 1911 B. Holland Life Dk. Devonshire ii. xxiv. 237 He is said to have suffered at critical moments of the sport from the excitement known as *stag fever. |
| 1968 Wall St. Jrnl. 11 Sept. 18/1 Pornography is not one of the nation's truly burning issues, and showing *stag films is not our idea of how to run the world's greatest deliberative body. 1977 Gay News 7–20 Apr. 23/2 She..made these very tame, anodyne stag films that she's always denying. |
| 1634 Moufet Insect. Theatrum i. xxi. 134 Anglis *Stag-flie. 1693 Dale Pharmacol. 538 Scarabæus cornutus, Schrod... The Stag-fly. |
| 1797 J. Robinson's Directory of Sheffield 45 *Stag hafted penknife cutler. |
| 1827 Griffith tr. Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. III. 332 The Babiroussa, or *Stag Hog. |
| 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy lii, There was a *stag-hunt on the lake. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xx. IV. 401 Without exposing himself to any risk greater than that of a staghunt at Fontainebleau. |
| 1709 Lond. Gaz. No. 4540/8 Stoln or strayed.., a..Bay Gelding,..hath been a known and constant *Stag-Hunter in the Forest of Sherwood for 2 or 3 Years past. |
| 1722 Ibid. No. 6112/1 There was a general *Stag hunting. 1845 Youatt Dog iii. 86 Since the death of George III..stag-hunting has rapidly declined. |
| 1627 May Lucan ii. D 1 b, Along the hauens *stagge-like Hornes they runne Swiftly to shore. 1838 Lytton Leila i. i, The small erect head and stag-like throat. |
| 1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra i. 16 She would get twice around the dance floor with the same partner, then someone would step out of the *stag line and cut in. 1977 G. V. Higgins Dreamland v. 47 As a member of Porcellian I had been invited to the stag line at a gathering on Beacon Hill. |
| 1758 Lond. Chron. 29 June 614/2 The *Stag Match between Sir Henry Grey, Bart., and Jennison Shafto, Esq. |
| 1960 Christian Herald July 14/2 Teen-agers bought ‘*stag movies’ for as much as $50 a reel. 1971 Ink 12 June 3/1 What he found was a hundred men having their mid-shift tea break and enjoying a stag movie. |
| 1657 Thornley Longus' Daphnis & Chloe (1893) 60 She gave him a new Scrip of *Stag-skin. |
| 1668 Charleton Onomast. 32 Elaps..the *Stag-Snake. |
| 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl., *Stag-worms,..a name given to a species of worms produced of the eggs of a fly, and lodged..behind, and under the palate of the stag. |
b. In the names of plants:
stag bush (see
quot.);
stag fern = staghorn fern (see staghorn 2 c);
† stag's garlic (see
garlic n. 1 b).
| 1884 Sargent Rep. Forests N. Amer. 94 Viburnum prunifolium..Black Haw. *Stag Bush. |
| 1884 Missionary Chron. Apr. 102 Huge *stag ferns or fantastic shapes. |
▪ II. stag, n.2 (
stæg)
? variant of
stack n. 6.
| 1775 Ann. Reg., Chron. 185 The Abby,..having lately gone to pieces on the Stags near Kenrule, in Ireland, the captain, mate, and two common men..were cast upon the lower stags. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Stag, a name given to a rock..as off the Lizard, Castlehaven, &c. |
▪ III. stag, n.3 (
stæg)
[? variant of stake n.1] 1. A stake, pile. (
Cf. stag v.
2)
dial.| 1881 Leicestersh. Gloss., Stag, var. pron. of ‘stake’. 1887 Jamieson's Sc. Dict. Suppl. 227/1 Stag, a stake, pile, fixed or for fixing in the ground. West of S., Aberd[een]. |
† 2. A tinman's tool
= stake n.1 5 a.
| 1688 Holme Armoury iii. xxii. (Roxb.) 269/2 He beareth Azure, a Small Stag, or a Round Stag, Argent. This..is for the raiseing of round filletts in Tyn for the Adornement of their Works. The second thing in this square is called a Creesing Stag. |
▪ IV. † stag, a. Obs. Also
stagg(e,
stage.
[Of obscure origin.] Of furs: Raw, unseasoned.
| 1545 Rates Custom Ho. a vij b, Callabre stagg. 1545 Ibid. b ij b, Foyne stagge. Ibid. d ij, Stagge the thousande. Stagge the hundreth. 1583 Ibid. A viij, Callaber stage. a 1618 Rates of Merchandizes G 2 b, Foynes wombes seasond... Foynes wombes stage. 1640 in Entick London II. 177 Coney skins grey, tawed, seasoned or stag. |
▪ V. stag, v.1 Also 9
steg.
[Prob. related to stagger v. Cf. ON. staka to push, stagger (whence stakra stagger v.). The identity of the word in the various senses below is uncertain.] † 1. intr. To stagger, waver.
Obs.| 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. iii. ix. 156 b, For euen the Prophete confesseth that his fete stagged. |
b. ? To flinch, yield, give way.
rare.
| 1831 Fraser's Mag. III. 652 The House of Lords..are now making a loud clattering of their determination to stand against the bill—but it is no go. I lay you the long odds..that their Lordships stag. |
2. To walk with long strides. Hence
stagged-up, tired out with walking.
Sc. and
dial.| 1823 Mactaggart Gallov. Encycl. 311 His ghaist..was seen by many stegging about the estate. 1866 E. Waugh Ben an' th' Bantam 66 Aw let on her [a traveller] o' tother side Yealey Ho'; quite stagged up. 1888 Sheffield Gloss., Stag, to walk quickly. 1895 Crockett Men of Moss-haggs xix, Auld Anton went stegging over the hills, till I was fair driven out of my breath. |
▪ VI. † stag, v.2 Sc. Obs. rare—1.
[? f. stag n.3; or var. of stake v.] trans. To support with piles.
| 1610 Aberdeen Reg. (1848) II. 300 The said brig to be staggit and branderit sufficiently in deipnes vnder the channall, to mak a sufficient ground to big vpoun. |
▪ VII. stag, v.3 (
stæg)
[f. stag n.1] 1. slang. a. trans. To observe; to take particular notice of; to watch; also, to find out or discover by observation, to detect. Also
absol. or intr.| 1796 Grose's Dict. Vulgar T. (ed. 3), To Stag, to find, discover, observe. 1806 T. S. Surr Winter in Lond. (ed. 3) II. 120, I shall soon stag who they are. 1823 ‘Jon Bee’ Dict. Turf. s.v., To ‘stag’ a thief, to look on, and spoil his sport: ‘What's that cove a stagging there for? Down him, Billy’. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss. s.v., When workmen are taking beer clandestinely, one of them keeps on the look out, to watch or ‘stag the master’. 1859 H. Kingsley Geoffrey Hamlyn v, So you've been stagging this gentleman and me, and listening, have you? 1897 G. Bartram People of Clopton v. 130 Who set ye on to watch me?.. And at last..he admitted that Master John had told him to keep an eye on me and Jenny—to ‘stag’ us if he saw us out together—and to get a witness to what went on between us. |
b. (See
quots.)
| 1811 Sporting Mag. XXXVII. 11 ‘I stagged him my Lord’.—‘Stagged him, what do you mean by stagged him?’—‘Why, my Lord, I mean I was down upon him’. 1870 Daily News 13 July, In the event of a man refusing or sloping, as it was termed, his line was what was called ‘stagged’, and when he went for an advance it was resolutely refused. |
c. intr. To turn informer; to inform
against.
| 1839 W. Carleton Fardorougha xi. (1848) 161 But to stag against his companion and accomplice—this was looked upon as a crime. 1846 J. Keegan Leg. & Poems (1907) 380 She imagines that I played foul at New Ross,—that I stagged and betrayed as well as deserted. |
d. (See
quot.)
| 1860 Hotten's Slang Dict., Stag, to demand money, to ‘cadge’... Also, to dun, or demand payment. |
2. Comm. slang. a. To deal in shares as a stag (see
stag n.1 8).
| 1845 Thackeray in Punch IX. 191 What! are ladies stagging it? 1845 ― [implied at stagging vbl. n. and stagged ppl. a. below]. |
b. trans. To deal in (shares) as a stag.
| 1935 Times 27 Nov. 19/2 The loan was heavily stagged, for the total applications exceeded {pstlg}14,000,000. 1966 New Statesman 23 Sept. 456/3 The gilt-edged market has now improved to the point where the new issue of ICI loan stock seems likely to be stagged even more heavily than the last. 1981 Daily Tel. 20 July 15/2 The offer is likely to be subscribed although the opportunities for stagging the issue will be limited. |
3. dial. (See
quot. Cf. stag-headed a.)
| 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Stag, to take off the top of a hedge without laying it down. |
4. intr. To go to or attend a social occasion unaccompanied. Also
const. it.
U.S. slang.| 1900 Dialect Notes II. 64 To stag it, to go to a party without escorting a lady. 1941 Sat. Even. Post 10 May 74/3 If you won't go with me to the picnic, I'll stag. 1973 Lebende Sprachen XVIII. 38/1 He had planned to stag at the class dance. |
5. trans. To cut (trousers or other articles of clothing) off short. Also with
off.
N. Amer.| 1902 [implied at stagged ppl. a. below]. 1905 Terms Forestry & Logging (U.S. Dept. Agric. Bureau Forestry) 49 Stag, to cut off trousers at the knee, or boots at the ankle. 1942 L. Rich We took to Woods vii. 188 One stags one's pants, one's shirt sleeves, anything that needs to be abbreviated quickly, even one's hair. 1953 R. Moon This is Saskatchewan 215 They [sc. the lumberjacks] wore pants stagged off or rolled half way to the knee so as not to be confused with mere city dwellers. 1972 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 30 Apr. 16/1 He was always dressed in the same way..heavy..underwear, tin pants stagged to the proper working length. |
Hence
stagged ppl. a., (of trousers) cut off short; also with
off;
ˈstagging vbl. n. and ppl. a. (
N. Amer.)
| 1845 Thackeray in Punch IX. 191 Her appearance created quite a sensation among the stagging gents. 1851 Kingsley Yeast ii, The Stock-Exchange and railway stagging,..and the frantic Mammon-hunting. 1902 S. E. White Blazed Trail xxvii. 190 A gigantic young riverman in the conventional stagged (i.e. chopped off) trousers. 1905 A. I. Shand Days of Past ix. 162 Everything went automatically to a premium, and systematic stagging was a profitable business. 1905 Daily Chron. 13 July 5/6 A peculiarity of the applications is the enormous number of them for {pstlg}100. A great many of these are obviously of the ‘stagging’ order. 1933 E. Hemingway Winner take Nothing 29 He wore stagged trousers and lumbermen's rubbers and a mackinaw shirt. 1956 H. S. M. Kemp Northern Trader 114 He had the mackinaw shirt and stagged-off pants, [etc.]. |
▪ VIII. stag, stagard see
steg,
staggard.