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stag
stag [OE stagga]. The fully grown male deer was an important cult animal among the Continental Celts and plays an important role in Celtic vernacular tradition, even though the Goidelic languages lack a single word to denote it. The horned gods of the ancient Celts, notably Cernunnos, have stag antlers. As monarch of the northern forests, the stag was admired for its speed and sexual aggression during the rutting season. Its antlers symbolized the changing seasons by being shed in autumn and regrowing in spring. The hardness of the antler clearly evoked male genitalia, and carved antlers were used to make phallic amulets. Representations of stags are found in Celtic art, beginning with rock carvings (7th cent. BC) and continuing with bronze figures and coins from the pre-Roman and Romano-Celtic periods. In the Camonica valley in the Italian Alps the stag is linked with sun imagery. The Celtic Dis Pater described by Caesar (1st cent. BC) may be a stag-god. The British god Cocidius is accompanied by a stag.
In Welsh and Irish traditions the stag often entices humans into the Otherworld. Fionn mac Cumhaill often hunts an enchanted stag, the metamorphosed Irish god Donn. Christianized, the stag becomes a guide to heaven and so is represented in cemeteries, such as at Mount Stewart Gardens in Co. Down, Ireland. But stags may also be associated with women. Flidais, Irish goddess of wild things, is mistress of stags. The war-goddess Mórrígan can take the form of a stag. The stag is one of the three transformations of Tuan mac Cairill. In the first branch of the Mabinogi, Pwyll hunts a stag that is the quarry of Arawn, lord of Annwfn. In the fourth branch Gilfaethwy becomes a stag and Gwydion a hind to produce Hyddwn [W, little stag]. In Culhwch ac Olwen, the supernatural, speaking Stag of Rhedynfre (or Redynvre) helps Culhwch in the pursuit of the boar Twrch Trwyth. OIr. dam [also denotes ox]; ModIr. poc [‘buck’, also denotes the ram], fia fireann [male deer]; ScG damh cabrach féidh; Manx tarroo-feeaih [lit. bull-deer]; W carw, hydd; Corn. carow; Bret. karv. |
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JAMES MacKILLOP. "stag." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES MacKILLOP. "stag." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-stag.html JAMES MacKILLOP. "stag." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-stag.html |
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stag
stag a stag is the emblem of St Eustace, St Giles, St Hubert, and St Osyth (d. c.700), supposedly protected from the unwanted attentions of her husband by a white stag. The word is recorded from Middle English, and is related to Old Norse steggr ‘male bird’ and Icelandic steggi ‘tomcat’.
From the mid 19th century, stag has been used in Stock Exchange jargon for a person who applies for shares in a new issue with a view to selling at once for a profit. stag night a celebration held for a man shortly before his wedding, attended by his male friends only. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "stag." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "stag." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-stag.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "stag." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-stag.html |
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stag
stag / stag/ • n. a male deer. ∎ [usu. as adj.] a social gathering attended by men only: a stag event. ∎ a person who attends a social gathering unaccompanied by a partner. • adv. without a partner at a social gathering: a lot of boys went stag. ORIGIN: Middle English (as a noun): related to Old Norse steggr ‘male bird,’ Icelandic steggi ‘tomcat.’ |
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"stag." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "stag." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-stag.html "stag." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-stag.html |
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stag
stag male of the (red) deer XII; (north.) young horse XIV; (dial.) full-grown castrated animal XVII; male of birds; (sl.) informer XVIII. OE. *stacga, *stagga, of unkn. orig.; perh. orig.; ‘male animal in its prime’ (cf. ON. staggr, staggi male bird).
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T. F. HOAD. "stag." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "stag." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-stag.html T. F. HOAD. "stag." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-stag.html |
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stag
stag
•bag, blag, brag, Bragg, crag, dag, drag, fag, flag, gag, hag, jag, lag, mag, nag, quag, rag, sag, scrag, shag, slag, snag, sprag, stag, swag, tag, wag, zag
•ragbag • saddlebag
•handbag, sandbag
•gasbag • ratbag • air bag • mailbag
•fleabag, tea bag
•beanbag • windbag • kitbag • dillybag
•carpet bag • washbag • growbag
•nosebag
•bumbag, scumbag
•punchbag • Stalag • jetlag • greylag
•gulag • dishrag • bullyrag • Morag
•ragtag • dog tag • Sontag • wigwag
•chinwag
•scallywag (US scallawag) • zigzag
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"stag." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "stag." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-stag.html "stag." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-stag.html |
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