nag

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun someone (especially a woman) who annoys people by constantly finding fault
  2. noun an old or over-worked horse
  3. verb bother persistently with trivial complaints

Etymology

From Middle English nagg, nage, nagge (“horse, small riding horse, pony”), cognate with Dutch negge, neg (“horse”), German Nickel (“small horse”). Perhaps related to English neigh.

In classic literature

Synonyms

scold, scolder, nagger, common scold

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading