Etymology

gag

G2A1G2

Today it means: A device to restrain speech, such as a rag in the mouth secured with tape or a rubber ball threaded onto a cord or strap. Full definition →

Middle English gaggen ← Old Norse gag-háls
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The story

  1. Old Norse · derived fromgag-háls
  2. Middle English · inherited fromgaggen
  3. English todaygag

The noun is from Early Modern English gagge; the verb is from Middle English gaggen. Possibly imitative or perhaps related to or influenced by Old Norse gag-háls ("with head thrown backwards"; > Norwegian dialectal gaga (“bent backwards”)). The intransitive sense "to retch" is from 1707. The noun is from the 16th century, figurative use (for "repression of speech") from the 1620s. The secondary meaning "(practical) joke" is from 1863, of unclear origin.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.