Etymograph

English

gag

Gag comes from Middle English gaggen.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gaggen
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1777gag

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gaggen
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1777gag

Earliest quotation: 1777, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters: “I endeavoured what I could to soften off the…”

The story

The noun is from Early Modern English gagge; the verb is from Middle English gaggen. Possibly imitative or perhaps related to or influenced by Old Norse gag-háls ("with head thrown backwards"; > Norwegian dialectal gaga (‘bent backwards’)). The intransitive sense "to retch" is from 1707. The noun is from the 16th century, figurative use (for "repression of speech") from the 1620s. The secondary meaning "(practical) joke" is from 1863, of unclear origin.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Every English word from Middle English gaggen

Today it means

noun A device to restrain speech, such as a rag in the mouth secured with tape or a rubber ball threaded onto a cord or strap.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Middle English gaggen / gag

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