▪ I. swagging, vbl. n.
(ˈswægɪŋ)
[f. swag v. + -ing1.]
Swaggyng in the following quot. may attest the existence of this word for the 15th century, but the true reading is no doubt swagynge (i.e. swaging, alleviation), as in MS. Rawl. Poet. 32 (cf. v.r. swagenyng).
| ? a 1412 Lydg. Fab. Duorum Merc. (1897) 511 O weepyng Mirre, now lat thy teerys reyne In to myn ynke so clubbyd in my penne, That rowthe in swaggyng abroode make it renne. |
1. a. The action of swaying or rocking to and fro; motion up and down or backwards and forwards; occas. wagging (of the head).
| 1566 J. Studley tr. Seneca's Agam. iii, She [sc. a ship] with her swaggyng full of sea to bottom lowe doth sinke. 1776 G. Semple Building in Water 128 To prevent their wrecking, swagging or dislocating. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas xi. vii. ¶5 A wise swagging to and fro of my head. 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §829 In order to prevent the swagging or sinking of the head or falling style. 1853 Sir H. Douglas Milit. Bridges 317 By bracing the beams together, and preventing the bridge from swagging. |
| fig. 1862 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xii. xii. (1872) IV. 272 In this manner, Walpole..had balanced the Parliamentary swaggings and clashings. |
† b. fig. Vacillation. Obs.
| 1636 Featly Clavis Myst. lvii. 778 The people..after much swagging on both sides,..came to fix upon this middle way. |
2. Sagging down.
| 1624 Wotton Archit. in Reliq. (1651) 224 Because so laid, they [sc. brick or squared stones] are more apt in swagging down, to pierce with their points, then in the jacent Posture. 1792 J. Belknap Hist. New-Hampsh. III. 75 It is usual for the surveyor to make large measure... Some allow one in thirty, for the swagging of the chain. 1800 Trans. Soc. Arts XVIII. 273 A hollow cast-iron roller..in order to bear up the rope, and to prevent it from swagging. |
3. Austral. and N.Z. Travelling as a swagman; carrying one's ‘swag’, back-packing.
| 1883 W. S. Green High Alps N.Z. xvi. 268 Descending to the lower camp..and doing the hard swagging work all over again. 1892 N.Z. Alpine Jrnl. I. 100 All our dirty work and heavy swagging will be done for us. 1940 W. S. Gilkison Peaks, Packs & Mountain Tracks xiii. 102 Swagging—or, if you prefer it, back-packing—is more or less an essential part of every climbing trip. 1960 ‘A. Carson’ Rose by any Other Name ix. 50 Swagging is an honourable profession in Australia. |
▪ II. swagging, ppl. a.
(ˈswægɪŋ)
[f. swag v. + -ing2.]
1. Swaying heavily to and fro; pendulous with weight; hanging loosely.
| 1593 Churchyard Challenge 180 With bellies big, and swagging dugges. 1600 Surflet Countrie Farme ii. liv. 369 The brests that are too great & swagging. a 1693 Urquhart's Rabelais iii. xxviii. 230 Swagging cod [orig. couillon avallé]. a 1722 Lisle Husb. (1757) 310 His [sc. a ram's] figure should be stately and tall, his belly big, swagging, and woolly. 1727 Gay Fables i. xxxvii, Beneath her swagging pannier's load. a 1793 G. White Selborne etc. (1853) 396 Vast swagging rock-like clouds. 1852 D. Jerrold Wks. (1864) II. 497 A purple bloated face and swagging paunch. |
b. Of a vehicle: Swaying, lurching, lumbering.
| 1754 H. Walpole Let. to J. Chute 21 May, You will dine at Farley in a swagging coach with fat mares of your own. 1827 Hone Every-day Bk. II. 1154 The swagging cart..Reels careless on. |
† 2. ? Big, ‘whopping’. Obs.
| 1731 Medley Kolben's Cape Gd. Hope I. 203 When the Hottentots louse themselves, they generally pick up the large swagging lice,..and devour them. |