waggle
/ˈwaɡəl/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.07 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To quickly raise and lower in rapid succession, usually as an implication of slyness, smugness, or suggestiveness.
Transitive verb
verb
To reel, sway, or move from side to side; to move with a wagging motion; to waddle.
Intransitive verb
noun
The preliminary swinging of the club head back and forth over the ball in the line of the proposed stroke.
Example Sentences
- "The Mole waggled his toes from sheer happiness, spread his chest with a sigh of full contentment, and leaned back blissfully into the soft cushions."
- "Oscar turned to someone who wasn't there and waggled his head. "Hoo, boy," he said."
- "I know you by the waggling of your head."
- "Why do you go Nodding and Waggling so like a Fool, as if you were Hipshot? says the Goose to her Gosselin."
- "The tassel on the end of his pigtail waggled all down the path and, as he turned out of the gate, it gave a special little flip."
- "Give the cable a waggle to let it come out quicker."
Etymology
From Middle English wagelen (attested in wagelyng), possibly a borrowing of Middle Low German wagelen; equivalent to wag + -le (“(frequentative)”). Compare continental equivalents Middle High German wacken ( > Danish vakle, German wackeln), Swedish vagla, West Frisian waggelje, Low German wackeln, Dutch waggelen.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈwaɡəl/