nag
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nag¹
- /ˈnæɡ/ US, UK
- /ˈnaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
- /ˈnæːɡ/ Australia
- /ˈnɛɡ/ New Zealand
- /neɪɡ/
Sounds like Knagg
Where it comes from
From Middle English nagg, nage, nagge (“horse, small riding horse, pony”), cognate with Dutch negge, neg (“horse”), German Nickel (“small horse”). Perhaps related to English neigh.
noun nags
- A small horse; a pony.
- An old, useless horse. We used to lure the nags into the back of our truck with oats and sugar, then we'd drive back to town to this warehouse and inject the nags with small quantities of morphine I'd stolen.
- A paramour. Yon ribaudred nag of Egypt – Whom leprosy o'ertake!
nag²
- /ˈnæɡ/ US, UK
- /ˈnaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
- /ˈnæːɡ/ Australia
- /ˈnɛɡ/ New Zealand
- /neɪɡ/
Sounds like Knagg
Where it comes from
Probably from a North Germanic source; compare Swedish nagga (“to gnaw, grumble”), Danish nage (“to nag, bother”), Icelandic nagga (“to complain”).
Compare typologically fret, Bulgarian глождя (gloždja), Russian глода́ть (glodátʹ), грызть (gryztʹ), по́едом есть (pójedom jestʹ), е́дкий (jédkij).
verb nags · nagging · nagged
- To repeatedly remind or complain to (someone) in an annoying way, often about insignificant or unnecessary matters. The room is never cleaned, so her mother nags and nags until she explodes with frustration and threatens to sell her to the lowest bidder.
-
To bother with persistent thoughts or memories.
The notion that he forgot something nagged him the rest of the day.
Similar: haunt
-
To bother or disturb persistently in any way.
But at night, around the uncertain edge of dreams, and when the wind nags, there are few whom an odd sound will not thrill
Similar: worry
noun nags
-
Someone or something that nags.
'That fellow is a nag.' 'Aye, the worst kind,' agreed Hamish, and then smiled, and at that smile, Miss Gunnery thawed even more.
Similar: shrew
- A repeated complaint or reminder. And finally the biggest thank you of all to my partner Steven Winston for your love, enthusiasm, encouragement, support, humour, nags, and glasses of wine.
- A persistent, bothersome thought or worry. All that while there was a little nag going on at the back of his mind, which he strove to disregard. But it insisted on attention, and to get rid of it he put down his palette abruptly and got out his mustard-tin cash-box and counted his money.
nag³
- /ˈnæɡ/ US, UK
- /ˈnaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
- /ˈnæːɡ/ Australia
- /ˈnɛɡ/ New Zealand
- /neɪɡ/
Sounds like Knagg
noun
- Misspelling of knack
NAG⁴
proper noun
- Initialism of Numeric Annotation Glyph
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: hack, plug, hen-peck, scold, peck, jade, scolder, common scold, horse, hamper, beast, yap, hinder, harridan, badger, sidekick
Translations
Every language
noun small horse
| Español | rocín |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 조랑말 jorangmal |
| Português | pônei |
| Deutsch | Pony |
| Ελληνικά | αλογάκι alogáki |
| Русский | по́ни póni |
noun old useless horse — see also dobbin
| Español | jamelgo, penco, rocinante |
|---|---|
| Português | rocim, rocinante |
| Français | rosse, haridelle, rossinante, carne, canasson |
| Deutsch | Schindmähre, Klepper, Ackergaul, Gaul |
| Italiano | brenna, ronzino |
| Ελληνικά | ψωράλογο psorálogo |
| Русский | кля́ча kljáča |
verb complain about insignificant matters
| Español | regañar, fastidiar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 嘮叨 /唠叨 láodao |
| Português | azucrinar, atazanar, moer o juízo |
| Deutsch | nörgeln, quengeln, meckern, zetern, keifen, motzen |
| Italiano | assillare |
| Ελληνικά | γκρινιάζω gkriniázo |
| Română | cicăli |
| Русский | пили́ть pilítʹ, придира́ться, изводи́ть izvodítʹ, ворча́ть |
| Tiếng Việt | cằn nhằn, càu nhàu, ỷ eo |
verb bother with memories
| Español | carcomer, reconcomer, remorder |
|---|---|
| Português | importunar |
| Deutsch | nagen, zusetzen, nerven |
| Русский | грызть gryztʹ, му́чить múčitʹ, истяза́ть istjazátʹ |
noun one who nags
| Deutsch | Zeterer, Nörgeltante, Nörgler, Nervensäge, Keppelweib, Meckerer |
|---|---|
| Русский | ворчу́н vorčún, ворчу́нья vorčúnʹja, приди́ра pridíra |
| עברית | נוּדנִיק noodneek |
Talk about this word "nag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nag. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. nag. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nag "nag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nag.Cite this
@misc{nag_2026,
title = {nag},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nag},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
