Sag

Sag

Verb / Noun · /sæɡ/ · to sink, droop, or bend downward under weight or pressure

Definition

To sag means to sink or curve downward, especially in the middle, under pressure or weight — or simply from weakness, age, or lack of support. A ceiling sags. A shelf sags. Flesh sags with age. As a noun, a sag is the downward curve itself: there is a sag in the middle of the mattress. The word is used both literally for physical drooping and figuratively for a loss of energy, enthusiasm, or momentum: the second act sags a little; the economy began to sag.

Origin

From Middle English saggen, related to Low German sacken and Dutch zakken — both meaning to sink or subside. The root carries the idea of a gradual, gravity-driven descent, something giving way under its own load. Sag has been in English since at least the fifteenth century and has always conveyed that same quiet, inevitable drooping quality.