blag

blag · noun, verb¹

The origin of the noun is unknown. The verb is derived from the noun.

blag · verb, adjective, noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰelǵʰ-“to swell”
2. Dutch · derived frombalg“leather bag”
3. French · borrowed fromblaguer“to joke (about); to tell a lie”
4. English todayblag

The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly: * from blag (“to rob; to steal”) (see etymology 1); or * borrowed from French blaguer (“to joke (about); to tell a lie”), from blague (“pouch, especially for tobacco; joke (from the notion of something puffed up, and thus fanciful)”) (from Dutch balg (“leather bag”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“to swell”)) + -er (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs). The adjective and noun are probably derived from the verb.

blag · noun³

Coined by the American author, cartoonist, and engineer Randall Munroe (born 1984) in his webcomic xkcd in 2006: see the quotation.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 2006 Deliberate misspelling of blog.