peg
/ˈpɛɡ/ noun, verb
Forms pegs pegging pegged 'Peg
- noun A cylindrical wooden or metal object used to fasten or as a bearing between objects.
- noun A protrusion used to hang things on. “Hang your coat on the peg and come in.”
- noun (figurative) A support; a reason; a pretext. “a peg to hang a claim upon”
- noun (cribbage) A peg moved on a crib board to keep score.
- noun (finance) A fixed exchange rate, where a currency's value is matched to the value of another currency or measure such as gold.
- noun (UK) A small quantity of a strong alcoholic beverage.
- noun A place formally allotted for fishing
- noun (colloquial, dated) A leg or foot.
- verb (transitive) To fasten using a peg. “Let's peg the rug to the floor.”
- verb (transitive) To affix or pin. “I found a tack and pegged your picture to the bulletin board.”
- verb (transitive) To fix a value or price. “China's currency is no longer pegged to the American dollar.”
- verb (transitive) To narrow the cuff openings of a pair of pants so that the legs take on a peg shape.
- verb (transitive, slang) To throw.
- verb (transitive, kickball) To throw a ball at (someone), to hit (someone) with a ball.
- verb (transitive, slang) To indicate or ascribe an attribute to; to classify or pigeonhole someone. “He's been pegged as a suspect.”
- verb (cribbage) To move one's pegs to indicate points scored; to score with a peg. “She pegged twelve points.”
Synonyms
shot fling hurl bung cast chuck chunk cook dash dump feck jerk heave hield hoy huck hurtle launch lob peck nog pin stick wooden leg leg pegleg thole tholepin rowlock oarlock
Etymology
From Middle English pegge, from Middle Dutch pegge (“pin, peg”), from Old Dutch *pigg-, *pegg-, from Proto-Germanic *pig-, *pag- (“peg, stake”), from Proto-Indo-European *bak-, *baḱ- (“club, pointed stick, peg”). Cognate with Dutch dialectal peg (“pin”), Low German pig, pigge (“peg, stick with a point”), Low German pegel (“post, stake”), Swedish pigg (“tooth, spike”), Danish pig (“spike”), Norwegian Bokmål pigg (“spike”), Irish bac (“stick, crook”), Latin baculum (“staff”), Latvian bakstît (“to poke”), Ancient Greek βάκτρον (báktron, “staff, walking stick”). Related to beak.
This is one of the very few English words that begin with a p and come from Proto-Germanic. Proto-Germanic *p, when not in a consonant cluster beginning with *s, developed by Grimm's law from the Proto-Indo-European consonant *b, which was very rare.
(To indicate or ascribe an attribute to): Assumed to originate from the use of pegs or pins as markers on a bulletin board or a list.
Shortening.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A small, pointed piece of wood, used in fastening boards together, in attaching the soles of boots or shoes, etc.; as, a shoe peg.
- noun A wooden pin, or nail, on which to hang things, as coats, etc. Hence, colloquially and figuratively: A support; a reason; a pretext; as, a peg to hang a claim upon.
- verb To put pegs into; to fasten the parts of with pegs; as, to peg shoes; to confine with pegs; to restrict or limit closely.
- verb To score with a peg, as points in the game; as, she pegged twelwe points. [Colloq.]
Etymology [OE. pegge; cf. Sw. pigg, Dan. pig a point, prickle, and E. peak.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “peg”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details