Lag — Defs

01 a. Coming tardily after or behind; slow; tardy.

1.
Coming tardily after or behind; slow; tardy.[Obs.]
“Came too lag to see him buried.” — Shak.
2.
Last; long-delayed; -- obsolete, except in the phrase lag end.
3.
Last made; hence, made of refuse; inferior.[Obs.]

02 n. One who lags; that which comes in last.

1.
One who lags; that which comes in last.[Obs.]
2.
The fag-end; the rump; hence, the lowest class.
“The common lag of people.” — Shak.
3.
The amount of retardation of anything, as of a valve in a steam engine, in opening or closing.
4.
A stave of a cask, drum, etc.;(Mach.)
5.
See Graylag.(Zool.) See: Graylag
6.
The failing behind or retardation of one phenomenon with respect to another to which it is closely related; as, the lag of magnetization compared with the magnetizing force (hysteresis); the lag of the current in an alternating circuit behind the impressed electro-motive force which produced it.

Phrases & compounds

Lag of the tide — the interval by which the time of high water falls behind the mean time, in the first and third quarters of the moon; -- opposed to priming of the tide, or the acceleration of the time of high water, in the second and fourth quarters; depending on the relative positions of the sun and moon.

Lag screw — an iron bolt with a square head, a sharp-edged thread, and a sharp point, adapted for screwing into wood; a screw for fastening lags.

03 v. i. To walk or more slowly; to stay or fall behind; to linger or loiter.

imp. & p. p. Lagged; p. pr. & vb. n. Lagging

1.
To walk or more slowly; to stay or fall behind; to linger or loiter.

Syn. To loiter; linger; saunter; delay; be tardy.

04 v. t. To cause to lag; to slacken.

1.
To cause to lag; to slacken.[Obs.]
2.
To cover, as the cylinder of a steam engine, with lags. See Lag, n., 4.(Mach.) See: Lag

05 n. One transported for a crime.

1.
One transported for a crime.[Slang, Eng.]

06 v. t. To transport for crime.

1.
To transport for crime.[Slang, Eng.]
“She lags us if we poach.” — De Quincey.