hag

Meaning

Noun

1. A witch, sorceress, or enchantress; a female wizard.
2. (derogatory) An ugly old woman.
3. (derogatory) An evil woman.
4. (US, slang) A woman over the age of 30 years.
5. A fury; a she-monster.
6. A hagfish; one of various eel-like fish of the family Myxinidae, allied to the lamprey, with a suctorial mouth, labial appendages, and a single pair of gill openings.
7. A hagdon or shearwater; one of various sea birds of the genus Puffinus.
8. (obsolete) An appearance of light and fire on a horse's mane or a person's hair.
9. The fruit of the hagberry, Prunus padus.
10. (slang, uncountable) Sleep paralysis.

Verb

To cut or erode (as) a hag (a hollow into moorland).

Verb

To harass; to weary with vexation.

Synonyms

witch

crone

harridan

bag

slime eels

beldam

beldame

hagfish

old woman

shrew

virago

vixen

woman

👩

broad

old maid

old witch

old bag

quagmire

queen

👸

runt

sack

night-hag

slovenly

sorceress

termagant

tigress

spitefire

bitch

wallet

bog

frump

ghost

👻

gorgon

loose woman

harpy

harp

hell-cat

Translations

bruja

Hexe

strega

sorcière

megera

fattucchiera

bruxa

Weib

👩

στρίγγλα

Myxinidae

Greisin

sorcier

virago

altes Weib

Pronounced as (IPA)

/hæɡ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: hagge

Inherited from Old English: hægtesse

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: Häkse

Cognate with Dutch: heks

Cognate with German: Hexe

Inherited from Middle English: hag

Cognate with English: hew

Inherited from Middle English: haggen

Cognate with Dutch: hagen

Cognate with Norwegian: haga

In summary

From Middle English hagge, hegge (“demon, old woman”), shortening of Old English hægtesse, hægtes (“harpy, witch”), from Proto-West Germanic *hagatussjā. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Häkse (“witch”), Dutch heks, German Hexe (“witch”). Doublet of hex.