From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Gag \Gag\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Gagged}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Gagging}.] [Prob. fr. W. cegio to choke or strangle, fr. ceg mouth, opening, entrance.]
1. To stop the mouth of, by thrusting sometimes in, so as to hinder speaking; hence, to silence by authority or by violence; not to allow freedom of speech to. --Marvell.
The time was not yet come when eloquence was to be gagged, and reason to be hood winked. --Maccaulay.
2. To pry or hold open by means of a gag.
Mouths gagged to such a wideness. --Fortescue (Transl.).
3. To cause to heave with nausea.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter; "he told a very funny joke"; "he knows a million gags"; "thanks for the laugh"; "he laughed unpleasantly at hisown jest"; "even a schoolboy's jape is supposed to have some ascertainable point" [syn: {joke}, {laugh}, {jest}, {jape}]
2: restraint put into a person's mouth to prevent speaking or shouting [syn: {muzzle}]
verb
1: prevent from speaking out; "The press was gagged" [syn: {muzzle}]
2: be too tight; rub or press; "This neckband is choking the cat" [syn: {choke}, {fret}]
3: tie a gag around someone's mouth in order to silence them; "The burglars gagged the home owner and tied him to a chair" [syn: {muzzle}]
4: make jokes or quips; "The students were gagging during dinner" [syn: {quip}]
5: struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; "he swallowed a fishbone and gagged" [syn: {choke}, {strangle}, {suffocate}]
6: cause to retch or choke [syn: {choke}]
7: make an unsuccessful effort to vomit; strain to vomit [syn: {heave}, {retch}] [also: {gagging}, {gagged}]
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