sag

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) The state of sinking or bending; a droop.
2. (countable, uncountable) The difference in elevation of a wire, cable, chain or rope suspended between two consecutive points.
3. (countable, uncountable) The difference in height or depth between the vertex and the rim of a curved surface, specifically used for optical elements such as a mirror or lens.
4. (countable, uncountable) A place where the surface (of a seat, the earth, etc) sinks or droops, like a depression or a dip in a ridge.

Verb

1. To sink, in the middle, by its weight or under applied pressure, below a horizontal line or plane.
2. (broadly) To lean, give way, or settle from a vertical position.
3. (figuratively) To lose firmness, elasticity, vigor, or a thriving state; to sink; to droop; to flag; to bend; to yield, as the mind or spirits, under the pressure of care, trouble, doubt, or the like; to be unsettled or unbalanced.
4. To loiter in walking; to idle along; to drag or droop heavily.
5. (transitive) To cause to bend or give way; to load.
6. (informal) To wear one's trousers so that their top is well below the waist.
7. (Canada, informal) To pull down someone else's pants as a prank.

Synonyms

droop

hang

bend

drop

slump

dip

collapse

hang down

depression

give way

sink

swag

dangle

flag

subside

fall

deteriorate

imprint

sag down

warp

weaken

caving in

blunt

curve

pull down

cave in

lower

shrink

slack

descend

carry weight

depress

depend upon

careen

depend on

depend

cant

deflection

deflect

bulge

beetle

🪲

bear down

give out

defect

force

flexure

deep

buckle

hinge on

flex

Translations

fléchir

abbassamento

zakken

çökmek

depressione

ployer

afundar

sacken

pendre

sarkma

insellamento

s’affaisser

cedere

cedimento

Senkung

Pronounced as (IPA)

/sæɡ/

Etymology

Cognate with Old Norse: sokkva

Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk: sagga

Cognate with Swedish: sacka

Cognate with Icelandic: sakka

Cognate with Dutch: zakken

Cognate with German: sacken

Cognate with Low German: -

In summary

From late Middle English saggen, probably of North Germanic/Scandinavian/Old Norse origin, akin to Old Norse sokkva (“to sink”), from a denasalized derivative of Proto-Germanic *sinkwaną (“to sink”).
Compare Norwegian Nynorsk sagga (“move slowly”)); probably akin to Danish and Norwegian sakke, Swedish sacka, Icelandic sakka. Compare also Dutch zakken and German sacken (from Low German).