swag

 
Pronunciation: /swag/

noun

  • 1an ornamental festoon of flowers, fruit, and greenery: garlands and swags of foliage
  • a carved or painted representation of such a festoon.
  • a curtain or piece of fabric fastened so as to hang in a drooping curve.
  • 2 [mass noun] informal money or goods taken by a thief or burglar: garden machinery is the most popular swag
  • products given away free, typically for promotional purposes: check out the fun bag of swag we gave our guests!
  • chiefly US cannabis, typically of a low grade: prices range from $40 a 10-seed packet for some Jamaican swag to $345 per pack for something tastier
  • 3Australian/NZ a traveller’s or miner’s bundle of personal belongings.
  • informal a large number or amount: Howard has promised me a swag of goodies

verb (swags, swagging, swagged)

[with object]
  • 1arrange in or decorate with a swag or swags of fabric: swag the fabric gracefully over the curtain tie-backs (as adjective swagged) the swagged contours of nomads' tents
  • 2 [no object] Australian/NZ travel with one’s personal belongings in a bundle: we were swagging it in Queensland swagging my way up to the Northern Territory
  • 3 [no object] chiefly literary hang heavily: the crinkly old hide swags here and there
  • sway from side to side: the stout chief sat swagging from one side to the other of the carriage

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'bulging bag'): probably of Scandinavian origin. The original sense of the verb (early 16th century) was 'cause to sway or sag'