wig
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
Shortening of periwig, itself an alteration of French perruque. The meaning of "to reprimand" perhaps came from this being something a bigwig would do or perhaps from the expressions to flip one's wig, wigs on the green, or dash my wig!
PronunciationEdit
Rhymes: -ɪɡ
- Homophone: Whig (in accents with the wine-whine merger)
NounEdit
wig (plural wigs)
- A head of real or synthetic hair worn on the head to disguise baldness, for cultural or religious reasons, for fashion, or by actors to help them better resemble the character they are portraying.
- A bigwig
- 1959=50, William Makepeace Thackeray, Pendennis, ch 12
- Ye’ve been grossly deceived and put upon, Milly, and it’s my belief his old ruffian of an uncle in a wig is in the plot against us.
- 1959=50, William Makepeace Thackeray, Pendennis, ch 12
- (dated, among fishermen) An old seal.
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Derived terms
TranslationsEdit
head of artificial hair
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VerbEdit
wig (third-person singular simple present wigs, present participle wigging, simple past and past participle wigged)
- To put on a wig; to provide with a wig (especially of an actor etc.).
- (transitive, colloquial) To upbraid, reprimand.
- (intransitive, colloquial, slang) To act in an extremely emotional way; to be overly excited, irritable, nervous, or fearful; behave erratically.
- That guy must be high. Look how he's wigging.
- (transitive, MLE, slang) To shoot in the head.
Related termsEdit
See alsoEdit
Further readingEdit
wig on Wikipedia.Wikipedia 
Wig in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
AfrikaansEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
wig (plural wîe)
DutchEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle Dutch wegghe, from Old Dutch *weggi, from Proto-Germanic *wagjaz.
PronunciationEdit
DescendantsEdit
NounEdit
wig f (plural wiggen, diminutive wiggetje n)
GothicEdit
RomanizationEdit
wig
- Romanization of 𐍅𐌹𐌲
Old EnglishEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Proto-West Germanic *wīg.
NounEdit
wīġ n
DeclensionEdit
Declension of wig (strong a-stem)
Derived termsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
Variant of wēoh.
NounEdit
wīġ m
- idol
- (in compounds) holy, consecrated
DeclensionEdit
Declension of wig (strong a-stem)
Derived termsEdit
- wīġweorþung (“idol-worship”)
- wīġbed > wēofod (“altar”)
- wīġsmiþ (“idol-carver”)
Old SaxonEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Proto-West Germanic *wīg, from Proto-Germanic *wīgą, from Proto-Indo-European *weyk-.
NounEdit
wīg n
DeclensionEdit
Declension of wīg (neuter a-stem)
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | wīg | wīg |
| accusative | wīg | wīg |
| genitive | wīges | wīgō |
| dative | wīge | wīgun |
| instrumental | — | — |
Etymology 2Edit
From Proto-West Germanic *wigi, from Proto-Germanic *wigją, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to carry; move; transport; ride”).
NounEdit
wig n
DeclensionEdit
Declension of wig (neuter ja-stem)
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | wig | wig |
| accusative | wig | wig |
| genitive | wiggies | wiggiō |
| dative | wiggie | wiggium |
| instrumental | — | — |
WelshEdit
EtymologyEdit
NounEdit
wig m or f (plural wigiau or wigs)
MutationEdit
| Welsh mutation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| radical | soft | nasal | h-prothesis |
| wig | unchanged | unchanged | hwig |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | |||
Further readingEdit
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “wig”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies