sag

The story

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*sankwijaną“to cause to sink”
2. Middle Low German · derived fromsacken“to sink, drift”
3. Middle English · inherited fromsaggen
4. English todaysag

From earlier sag, sagg, sack, from Middle English saggen, probably from Middle Low German sacken (“to sink, drift”), ultimately of North Germanic/Scandinavian/Old Norse origin, akin to Old Norse søkkva (“to sink”), a denasalized derivative of Proto-Germanic *sankwijaną (“to cause to sink”), related to Proto-Germanic *sinkwaną (“to sink”). Cognate with Scots seg (“to sink”), Danish sakke (“to lag behind”), Swedish sacka (“to lag”), Icelandic sakka (“to sink”), Faroese søkka (“to sink, drop down, descend, set”), Dutch zakken (“to fall, drop, sink”), German Low German sacken (“to sink”), and German sacken (“to sink”) (from Low German). Compare also Norwegian Nynorsk sagga (“to walk or move heavily and slowly”).