verbTo obtain (something) for free, particularly by guile or persuasion. · To obtain (confidential information) by impersonation or other deception; also, to deceive (someone) into disclosing confidential information. · To obtain (something desired), or avoid (something undesired), through improvisation or luck; to fluke, to get away with. · To use guile or persuasion on (someone); also, to deceive or perpetrate a hoax on (someone).
nounAn attempt to obtain, or the means of obtaining, something by guile or persuasion; a trick. · An act of deceiving; a con, a deception, a hoax.
Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventoryThe origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly:
* from blag (“to rob; to steal”) (see etymology 1); or
* borrowed from French blaguer (“to joke (about); to tell a lie”), from blague (“pouch, especially for tobacco; joke (from the notion of something puffed up, and thus fanciful)”) (from Dutch balg (“leather bag”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“to swell”)) + -er (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs).
The adjective and noun are probably derived from the verb.
This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
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[
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"To obtain (something) for free, particularly by guile or persuasion.",
"To obtain (confidential information) by impersonation or other deception; also, to deceive (someone) into disclosing confidential information.",
"To obtain (something desired), or avoid (something undesired), through improvisation or luck; to fluke, to get away with.",
"To use guile or persuasion on (someone); also, to deceive or perpetrate a hoax on (someone)."
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"An attempt to obtain, or the means of obtaining, something by guile or persuasion; a trick.",
"An act of deceiving; a con, a deception, a hoax."
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