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waggle

[wag-uh l]
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verb (used without object), wag·gled, wag·gling.
  1. to wobble or shake, especially while in motion: The ball waggled slowly to a stop. The leaves of the tree waggled in the wind.
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verb (used with object), wag·gled, wag·gling.
  1. to move up and down or from side to side in a short, rapid manner; wag: to waggle one's head.
  2. Golf. to make a waggle with (a golf club).
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noun
  1. a waggling motion.
  2. Golf. a swinging movement made with a golf club to and fro over the ball prior to a stroke.
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Origin of waggle

First recorded in 1585–95; wag + -le
Related formswag·gling·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

quiverjerkwagjigglewavewiggletwitchflourishflutterbobblejoggle

Examples from the Web for waggle

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • For instance, that night, all he did was to waggle his finger at me.

    Victory

    Joseph Conrad

  • At this rare praise he would straighten his shoulders and waggle his head.

    Gigolo

    Edna Ferber

  • And yet, however much it may waggle, a stone does fall to earth if you drop it.

  • I saw Wiggle just now in the dressing-room, talking to Waggle, his inseparable.

    The Book of Snobs

    William Makepeace Thackeray

  • Bacchus is the divinity to whom Waggle devotes his especial worship.

    The Book of Snobs

    William Makepeace Thackeray

British Dictionary definitions for waggle

waggle

verb
  1. to move or cause to move with a rapid shaking or wobbling motion
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noun
  1. a rapid shaking or wobbling motion
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Derived Formswagglingly, adverbwaggly, adjective

Word Origin

C16: frequentative of wag 1
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 waggle

v.

mid-15c., frequentative of wag (v.). Cf. Dutch waggelen "to waggle," Old High German wagon "to move, shake," German wackeln "to totter." Related: Waggled; waggling.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper