wigwag

[ wig-wag ]

verb (used with or without object)

, wig·wagged, wig·wag·ging.

1. to move to and fro.
2. Nautical. to signal by movements of two flags or the like waved according to a code.

noun

1. Nautical. the act or process of sending messages by the movements of two flags or the like waved according to a code.
2. a message so signaled.

wigwag

/ ˈwɪɡˌwæɡ /

verb

1. to move (something) back and forth
2. to communicate with (someone) by means of a flag semaphore

noun

1. 1. a system of communication by flag semaphore
   2. the message signalled

Derived Forms

• ˈwigˌwagger, noun

Other Words From

• wigwagger noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wigwag¹

1575–85; wig to wag (now dial.) + wag; gradational compound, parallel to zigzag, etc.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wigwag¹

C16: from obsolete wig , probably short for wiggle + wag ¹

Example Sentences

There are often guys on the corners, on this part of Seventy-first, whistling and wigwagging signals up the block.

From The New Yorker

Lex not only brought us together but sent us down different paths than we’d been on before he gave us the wigwag.

From The New Yorker

And she was interested and pleased, and would learn wigwagging herself.

From Project Gutenberg

On her bridge a man was wigwagging to the Oregon with an electric signal.

From Project Gutenberg

They were so well hidden that the girls would never have seen them if Billy had not stealthily waved a red handkerchief which he always carried for wigwagging.

From Project Gutenberg

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