# stag

> English word · Noun · IPA /stæɡ/ · frequency rank #21,077

## Definitions
1. An adult male deer, especially a red deer and especially one in high adulthood versus a young adult.
2. A young horse (colt or filly).
3. A male turkey: a turkeycock.
4. A romping girl; a tomboy.
5. An improperly or late castrated bull or ram – also called a bull seg (see note under ox).
6. An outside irregular dealer in stocks, who is not a member of the exchange.
7. One who applies for the allotment of shares in new projects, with a view to sell immediately at a premium, and not to hold the stock.
8. An unmarried man; a bachelor; a man not accompanying a woman at a social event.
9. A social event for men held in honor of a groom on the eve of his wedding, attended by male friends of the groom; sometimes a fundraiser.
10. An informer.
11. Guard duty.
12. A stag beetle (family Lucanidae).
13. The Eurasian wren, Troglodytes troglodytes.

## Etymology
From Middle English stagge, steg, from Old English stagga, stacga (“a stag”) and possibly Old Norse steggi, steggr (“a male animal”), both from Proto-Germanic *staggijô, *staggijaz (“male, male deer, porcupine”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *stegʰ-, *stengʰ- (“to sting; rod, blade; sharp, stiff”). Doublet of steg (“gander”). Cognate with Icelandic steggi, steggur (“tomcat, male fox”). Related to staggard, staggon.

## Easily confused with
- **STD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-std)
- **STR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-str)
- **STS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-sts)
- **Stu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-stu)
- **STI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-sti)
- **STM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-stm)
- **STP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-stp)
- **sth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-sth)
- **SVG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-svg)
- **stop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-stop)
- **stay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-stay)
- **star** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-star)
- **stem** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-stem)
- **stan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-stan)
- **stir** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-stir)
- **stat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-stat)
- **swap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-swap)
- **sung** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-sung)
- **swan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-swan)
- **stud** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stag-vs-stud)

## Common misspellings (6)
`satg`, `sstag`, `stagg`, `stga`, `sttag`, `tsag`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/stag