knag

A small bird perches on a knag of an old oak tree.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A knot in wood: "knag" refers to a hard, knotty protuberance or a knot in a piece of wood, such as a branch stump or a defect in timber.
   • A peg or projection: By extension, "knag" can also mean a short, projecting piece of wood, like a peg or a hook, often used for hanging things.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The carpenter carefully sanded down the knag on the plank to make the surface smooth. (A knot in the wood that needed removal.)
  • He hung his coat on a knag by the door. (A small wooden peg or projection used for hanging.)

Advanced Usage

• "knaggy": an adjective derived from "knag," meaning full of knots or rough with projections.
  • The old fence was knaggy and splintered from years of weather. (Covered in knots and rough projections.)

Variants and Related Words

• Knaggy (adj): having many knots or projections; rough.
  • The knaggy branch was difficult to carve. (The branch was full of hard knots.)

Synonyms

• Knot: a hard, cross-grained mass of wood where a branch joins a tree.
• Nub: a small lump or projection.
• Peg: a short, cylindrical piece of wood used for fastening or hanging.

Related Idioms

• (No common idioms directly using "knag" exist; the word is rare and primarily technical or dialectal.)

Phrasal Verbs

• (No phrasal verbs are formed with "knag"; it is only used as a noun.)