shrug
/ˈʃɹʌɡ/ noun, verb
Forms shrugs shrugging shrugged
- noun A lifting of the shoulders to signal indifference or a casual lack of knowledge about something. “He dismissed my comment with a shrug.”
- noun A cropped, cardiganlike garment with short or long sleeves, typically knitted.
- verb (ambitransitive) To raise (the shoulders) to express uncertainty, lack of concern, (formerly) dread, etc. “I asked him for an answer and he just shrugged.”
Etymology
From Middle English schruggen, shrukken, probably of North Germanic origin related to Danish skrugge, skrukke (“to stoop; crouch”), Swedish skruga, skrukka (“to huddle; crouch”), all from or related to Old Norse skrykkva, from Proto-Germanic *skrinkwaną. Compare also Old English scrincan (“to shrink”). More at shrink.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To draw up or contract (the shoulders), especially by way of expressing dislike, dread, doubt, or the like.
- verb To raise or draw up the shoulders, as in expressing dislike, dread, doubt, or the like.
- noun A drawing up of the shoulders, --a motion usually expressing dislike, dread, or doubt.
Etymology [Probably akin to shrink, p. p. shrunk; cf. Dan. skrugge, skrukke, to stoop, dial. Sw. skrukka, skruga, to crouch.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “shrug”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details