swag
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swag¹
- /ˈswæɡ/
- [ˈswæɡ]
- /ˈsweɪ̯ɡ/
- [ˈsweɪ̯ɡ]
Rhymes with -æɡ
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English swagen, a late collateral form of *swawen possibly originating from Lancashire and Yorkshire (possibly continued in Scots swaw (“wave”); parallel to e.g. drag for draw), from Old Norse *svaga (“to swerve, sway”), of unclear origin. Compare dialectal Norwegian svaga (“to sway, swing, stagger”).
verb swags · swagging · swagged
- To (cause to) sway. 1790, William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, The Argument, p. 1, Hungry clouds swag on the deep
- To droop; to sag. so laid, they are more apt in swagging down, to pierce with their points, then in the jacent Posture
- To decorate (something) with loops of draped fabric. Dior wouldn’t be Dior without the swagged ball gown[…].
- To install (a ceiling fan or light fixture) by means of a long cord running from the ceiling to an outlet, and suspended by hooks or similar. Hooks come with screws for use in plaster or wood and toggles for use in wallboard. One hook should be sufficient to swag a lamp from a ceiling outlet.
noun swags
- A loop of draped fabric. He looked in bewilderment at number 24, the final house with its regalia of stucco swags and bows.
- Something that droops like a swag. Detective Inspector Douglas Browne, the flesh of whose cheeks hung in swags, had the friendly aspect of a large brown-eyed dog.
- A place where water collects; a low, wet place where the land has settled. Whenever the muddy water would accumulate in the swag the water from the well in question would become muddy[…] After the water in the swag had all disappeared through the sink-hole the well water would again become clear.
- A pass, gap or sag in a mountain ridge. […] the Stoll household were hoeing corn high up on a bench or "swag" of the mountain facing the home, where there was newer and richer ground than in the abandoned fields in its rear.
swag²
- /ˈswæɡ/
- [ˈswæɡ]
- /ˈsweɪ̯ɡ/
- [ˈsweɪ̯ɡ]
Rhymes with -æɡ
Where it comes from
Clipping of swagger. A common folk etymology is that the word derives from an acronym for "she wants a gentleman", "secretly we are gay" or other phrases.
noun
- Style; fashionable appearance or manner. Now this dude got swag, and he was pushing up on me but, it wasn't like we was kicking it or anything!
swag³
- /ˈswæɡ/
- [ˈswæɡ]
- /ˈsweɪ̯ɡ/
- [ˈsweɪ̯ɡ]
Rhymes with -æɡ
Where it comes from
From 18th c. British thieves' slang, from the noun use of Etymology 1 above, "a swaying, an uneven motion." A folk etymology, particularly for the handouts definition, is “stuff we all get”.
noun swags
-
Stolen goods; the booty of a burglar or thief; boodle.
The swag, is a term used in speaking of any booty you have lately obtained, be it of what kind it may, except money; as where did you lumber the swag? that is, where did you deposit the stolen property? To carry the swag is to be the bearer of the stolen goods to a place of safety.
Similar: boodle, booty, fang, gizzit, haul, hot property, loot, pelf, pickings, pillage, plunder, prigging
- Branded handout, freebies, or giveaways, often distributed at conventions; merchandise. "Make sure to take some swag on your way out!" I called. He stooped a bit in mid-trot and snatched a small gold bag out of the basket at the door. The contents were mostly shit, a few drink tickets to the Well of Souls, VIP status at Convent, that sort of thing.
-
The possessions of a bushman or itinerant worker, tied up in a blanket and carried over the shoulder, sometimes attached to a stick.
He tramped for years till the swag he bore seemed part of himself to him.
Similar: bindle
- A small single-person tent, usually foldable into an integral backpack.
- A large quantity (of something). New Zealand wasted a swag of chances to lose their opening women′s hockey World Cup match.
-
A shop and its goods; any quantity of goods.
Similar: stock
verb swags · swagging · swagged
- To travel on foot carrying a swag (possessions tied in a blanket). He told me that times had been bad at Invercargill, and that he had started for fresh pastures, had worked his passage up as mate in a small craft from the south, and, arriving in Port Underwood, had swagged his calico tent over the hill, and was now living in it, pitched in the manuka scrub.
- To transport stolen goods. Well, one night we were rather hard up and we wanted a good feed, so five or six of us set out, along with a great stout fellow, and we actually stole a whole sheep that was hanging at a butcher's door, and the big chap swagged it home.
- To transport in the course of arrest. 17 I was cooking crack, turned Abz' flat to a science lab 18, when my door got banged Like servery knows and throws them bags Two handcuffs on the hands on a circle van when I got swagged Seven day lost in cell, confinement, disobey lawful order
swag⁴
- /ˈswæɡ/
- [ˈswæɡ]
- /ˈsweɪ̯ɡ/
- [ˈsweɪ̯ɡ]
Rhymes with -æɡ
noun swags
- Alternative letter-case form of SWAG; a wild guess or ballpark estimate. I can take a swag at the answer, but it may not be right.
SWAG⁵
Rhymes with -æɡ
Where it comes from
Acronym of various terms.
noun SWAGs
-
Initialism of scientific wild-ass guess; also speculative/sophisticated/stupid/some wild-ass guess Used humorously to indicate that an estimate was more of a guess than the result of any stringent data analysis.
Near-synonyms: WAG, wild guess, uneducated guess, stab in the dark, shot in the dark; see also Thesaurus:supposition
Similar: WAG, wild guess, uneducated guess, stab in the dark, shot in the dark, assumption, conjecture, foreguess, given, guess, hunch, hypothesis
proper noun
- Initialism of Special Warfare Action Group, a former group within the Philippine Navy, similar in nature to U.S. Navy SEALs.
SWAG⁶
Rhymes with -æɡ
Where it comes from
From swag, an English slang word, in the mistaken belief that it originated as an acronym ("stuff we all get" or similar). For the true origin of the word, see swag.
noun
- Alternative form of swag (handouts, freebies)
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: sag, lurch, droop, reel, stagger, plunder, pillage, prize, flag, loot, booty, careen, keel, lucre, signage, swagger
Translations
Every language
noun Translations
| Español | tipería |
|---|
noun promotional freebies
| Español | dádivas promocionales |
|---|
verb bushman's possessions in a drape
| Français | balluchon, baluchon |
|---|---|
| Italiano | fagotto, averi |
| Русский | узел uzel |
verb burglar's or thief's booty; a boodle
| Français | butin |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Sore, Diebesgut, Beute |
| Italiano | bottino, malloppo, refurtiva, maltolto |
| Русский | награбленное nagrablennoje, добы́ча dobýča |
verb handouts, freebies, or giveaways
| Français | babiole |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Werbegeschenk |
| Italiano | omaggio, campione |
| Русский | халя́ва xaljáva, дармовщина darmovščina |
Talk about this word "swag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/swag. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. swag. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/swag "swag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/swag.Cite this
@misc{swag_2026,
title = {swag},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/swag},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
