wagged

Wagged is the simple past tense and past participle of the verb wag, which means to move to and fro or up and down quickly or repeatedly. The term is most commonly used to describe movement of a tail or other flexible appendage, though it can also refer to objects that oscillate or to human actions that occur in a back-and-forth manner.

In animals, tail wagging is a common behavior among many mammals, especially dogs, cats, and foxes. The motion often signals an emotional state such as happiness, greeting, excitement, or, in some contexts, anxiety. While the specifics of what a wag communicates can vary by species and situation, observers typically rely on accompanying cues—like speed, breadth of the wag, posture, and vocalizations—to interpret meaning.

In human language, wagging can describe a physical gesture, such as a finger wagged to admonish or a head wagged in agreement or uncertainty. The phrase “the tail wagging the dog” is used idiomatically to describe a situation in which a secondary or smaller element ends up controlling a larger system or outcome, highlighting a reversal of expected influence.

Wagged also appears in literary and journalistic writing as the past tense form of wag, following regular English conjugation. While the term is straightforward, its usage spans concrete description of animal behavior to metaphorical expressions in commentary and storytelling.