swag
n. uncountablen. cool style, confidence, or the way someone carries themselves. It can also mean free items or gifts you get at an event.
n. a confident, stylish manner or appearance; also refers to promotional merchandise or stolen goods. The personal-style sense is often associated with hip-hop culture.
The players walked onto the field with a lot of swag.
Everyone who attended the tech conference left with a bag full of company swag like t-shirts and stickers.
The artist's undeniable swag was evident in every movement, blending high-fashion aesthetics with a raw, street-level confidence that captivated the entire audience.
From Middle English swaggen, swagen, swoggen, probably from Old Norse sveggja (“to swing, sway”), from Proto-Germanic swinganą (“to swing”). Compare dialectal Norwegian svaga (“to sway, swing, stagger”).
Clipping of swagger. A common folk etymology is that the word derives from an acronym for "she wants a gentleman", "secretly we are gay" or other phrases.
From 18th c. British thieves' slang, from the noun use of Etymology 1 above, "a swaying, an uneven motion." A folk etymology, particularly for the handouts definition, is “stuff we all get”.
Uncountable when referring to style or confidence; can be used as a collective noun for promotional items.
- Nounswag
- Nounswagger