stag
[stag]
- an adult male deer.
- the male of various other animals.
- a man who attends a social gathering unaccompanied by a woman.
- Informal. stag party.
- a swine or bull castrated after maturation of the sex organs.
- British. a speculator who buys securities of a new issue in the hope of selling them quickly at a higher price.
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- Informal. (of a man) to attend a social function without a female companion.
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- of or for men only: a stag dinner.
- intended for male audiences and usually pornographic in content: a stag show.
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- without a companion or date: to go stag to a dance.
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Origin of stag
1150–1200; Middle English stagge; akin to Old Norse steggi, steggr male bird (> E (north dial.) steg gander), Icelandic steggur male fox, tomcat
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for stag
Contemporary Examples
And there happens to be a rock with stag on top of it as a monument right outside of town.
When "Paula" stalled at Stag, Salinger must have been relieved.
Salinger retooled it, retitled it "Paula," and sold it to Stag, a middlebrow publication for men.
“President Zal ul-Haq refused me entry to his entourage, saying it was a stag party,” Mustafa told the audience.
Portraits Of Courage: Female Journalists Honored At International Women’s Media Foundation AwardsKatie Baker
October 24, 2012
In her anger she casts a spell upon him, changing him into a stag.
Historical Examples
The stag is entirely the same with that of France, only he is a little larger.
The History of LouisianaLe Page Du Pratz
In one year of record his score was 154 red deer and 100 stag.
Blood and IronJohn Hubert Greusel
But here a stream crossed the road, 175 and the stag plunged into the water.
Cossack Fairy Tales and Folk TalesAnonymous
He looked about him on every side, and wondered where the stag had gone.
Cossack Fairy Tales and Folk TalesAnonymous
So the Tsar took off his clothes, and into the water he plunged after the stag.
Cossack Fairy Tales and Folk TalesAnonymous
stag
- the adult male of a deer, esp a red deer
- a man unaccompanied by a woman at a social gathering
- stock exchange, British
- a speculator who applies for shares in a new issue in anticipation of a rise in price when trading commences in order to make a quick profit on resale
- (as modifier)stag operations
- (modifier) (of a social gathering) attended by men only
- (modifier) pornographic in contenta stag show
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- without a female escort
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- stock exchange to apply for (shares in a new issue) with the intention of selling them for a quick profit when trading commences
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Word Origin
Old English stagga (unattested); related to Old Norse steggr male bird
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for stag
n.
late 12c., probably from Old English *stagga "stag," from Proto-Germanic *stag- (see sting). The Old Norse equivalent was used of male foxes, tomcats and dragons and the Germanic root word perhaps originally meant "male animal in its prime." Meaning "pertaining to or composed of males only" (stag party) is American English slang from 1848. Stag film "pornographic movie" is attested from 1968.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with stag
stag
In addition to the idiom beginning with stag
- stage fright
- stage whisper
- stag party
also see:
- go stag
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.