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stag

[stag]
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noun
  1. an adult male deer.
  2. the male of various other animals.
  3. a man who attends a social gathering unaccompanied by a woman.
  4. Informal. stag party.
  5. a swine or bull castrated after maturation of the sex organs.
  6. 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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verb (used without object), stagged, stag·ging.
  1. Informal. (of a man) to attend a social function without a female companion.
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adjective
  1. of or for men only: a stag dinner.
  2. intended for male audiences and usually pornographic in content: a stag show.
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adverb
  1. 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
Related formsstag·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for stagging

Historical Examples

  • Charlie had been stagging with her for the last two months, and knocked her all to pieces.

    Phineas Redux

    Anthony Trollope

  • A horse ought in my opinion to be quite seven years old, to take his turn regularly once a week stagging.

British Dictionary definitions for stagging

stag

noun
  1. the adult male of a deer, esp a red deer
  2. a man unaccompanied by a woman at a social gathering
  3. stock exchange, British
    1. 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
    2. (as modifier)stag operations
  4. (modifier) (of a social gathering) attended by men only
  5. (modifier) pornographic in contenta stag show
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adverb
  1. without a female escort
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verb (tr)
  1. 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 stagging

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 stagging

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.