*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of hag

From Middle English hagge, hegge (“demon, old woman”), shortening of Old English hægtesse, hægtes (“harpy, witch”), from Proto-West Germanic *hagatussjā. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Häkse (“witch”), Dutch heks, German

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A witch, sorceress, or enchantress; a female wizard. · An ugly old woman. · An evil woman. · A woman.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English hagge, hegge (“demon, old woman”), shortening of Old English hægtesse, hægtes (“harpy, witch”), from Proto-West Germanic *hagatussjā. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Häkse (“witch”), Dutch heks, German Hexe (“witch”). Doublet of hex.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 7 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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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "hagge"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English hagge"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hægtesse"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hægtesse"
    },
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    },
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        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Häkse",
        "3": "",
        "4": "witch"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Häkse (“witch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "heks"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch heks"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Hexe",
        "3": "",
        "4": "witch"
      },
      "expansion": "German Hexe (“witch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hex"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of hex"
    }
  ],
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      "hagge#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "hegge#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hægtesse",
      "hægtesse#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "hægtes",
      "hægtes#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*hagatussjā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/hagatussjā"
    ],
    [
      "Häkse",
      "Häkse#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "heks",
      "heks#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Hexe",
      "Hexe#German"
    ],
    [
      "hex",
      "hex#English"
    ]
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        "A witch, sorceress, or enchantress; a female wizard.",
        "An ugly old woman.",
        "An evil woman.",
        "A woman."
      ],
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        "US",
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A small wood, or part of a wood or copse, which is marked off or enclosed for felling, or which has been felled. · A marshy hollow, especially an area of peat lying lower than surrounding moorland, formed by erosion of a gully or cutting and often having steep edges.

verb

To cut or erode (as) a hag (a hollow into moorland).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English hag (denoting a gap in a cliff), from Old Norse hǫgg (“cut, gap, breach”), derivative of hǫggva (“to hack, hew”). Compare English hew, Old Swedish hug (“blow, stroke”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionhagenm
  • Derivation mentionhǫggnon
  • Cognate mentionhewen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmq"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "hag"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English hag"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "hǫgg",
        "4": "",
        "5": "cut, gap, breach"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse hǫgg (“cut, gap, breach”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hew"
      },
      "expansion": "English hew"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "hag",
      "hag#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hǫgg",
      "hǫgg#Old_Norse"
    ],
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      "hǫggva",
      "hǫggva#Old_Norse"
    ],
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      "hew",
      "hew#English"
    ],
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      "hug",
      "hug#Old_Norse"
    ]
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        "A small wood, or part of a wood or copse, which is marked off or enclosed for felling, or which has been felled.",
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      "tags": [
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
verb

To harass; to weary with vexation.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English haggen, from Proto-Germanic *hag(g)ōnan (compare obsolete Dutch hagen (“to torment, agonize”), Norwegian haga (“to tire, weaken”)).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
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        "3": "haggen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English haggen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*hag(g)ōnan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *hag(g)ōnan"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "hagen",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to torment, agonize"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch hagen (“to torment, agonize”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "haga",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to tire, weaken"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian haga (“to tire, weaken”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "haggen",
      "haggen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "*hag(g)ōnan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hag(g)ōnan"
    ],
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      "hagen",
      "hagen#Dutch"
    ],
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      "haga",
      "haga#Norwegian"
    ]
  ],
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        "To harass; to weary with vexation."
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for hag →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-aGFn