Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Hag?

\Hag\, n. [OE. hagge, hegge, with, hag, AS. h[ae]gtesse; akin to OHG. hagazussa, G. hexe, D. heks, Dan. hex, Sw. h["a]xa. The first part of the word is prob. the same as E. haw, hedge, and the orig. meaning was perh., wood woman, wild woman. ?.] 1. A witch, sorceress, or enchantress; also, a wizard. [Obs.] ``[Silenus] that old hag.'' --Golding. 2. An ugly old woman. 3. A fury; a she-monster. --Grashaw. 4. (Zo["o]l.) An eel-like marine marsipobranch ({Myxine glutinosa}), allied to the lamprey. It has a suctorial mouth, with labial appendages, and a single pair of gill openings. It is the type of the order Hyperotpeta. Called also {hagfish}, {borer}, {slime eel}, {sucker}, and {sleepmarken}. 5. (Zo["o]l.) The hagdon or shearwater. 6. An appearance of light and fire on a horse's mane or a man's hair. --Blount. {Hag moth} (Zo["o]l.), a moth ({Phobetron pithecium}), the larva of which has curious side appendages, and feeds on fruit trees. {Hag's tooth} (Naut.), an ugly irregularity in the pattern of matting or pointing.
\Hag\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Hagged}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Hagging}.] To harass; to weary with vexation. How are superstitious men hagged out of their wits with the fancy of omens. --L'Estrange.
\Hag\, n. [Scot. hag to cut; cf. E. hack.] 1. A small wood, or part of a wood or copse, which is marked off or inclosed for felling, or which has been felled. This said, he led me over hoults and hags; Through thorns and bushes scant my legs I drew. --Fairfax. 2. A quagmire; mossy ground where peat or turf has been cut. --Dugdale.