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WAGs (or Wags) is an acronym used to refer to wives and girlfriends of high-profile sportspersons. The term may also be used in the singular form, "WAG", to refer to a specific female partner / life partner. The term was first used by the British tabloid press to refer to the wives and girlfriends of high-profile footballers, originally the England national football team. It came into common use during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, although the term had been used occasionally before that. The acronym has since been used by the media in other countries to describe the female partners of sportsperson in general. == Lexicography == The first recorded use of the term was in 2002: "It was never guaranteed that the wives and girlfriends (or "the Wags", as staff at the Jumeirah Beach Club call them for short) would get along. Mrs Beckham's tongue, for one thing, has previously run away with itself."〔''Sunday Telegraph'', 19 May 2002〕 In 2006 it was generally printed as "WAGs", but a singular, "Wag" or "WAG", quickly came into vogue for example: "any additional pounds she gained during Wag drinking sessions";〔''Metro'', 4 July 2006〕 "a property heiress, model and actress, appears a likely sports WAG".〔''Times'', 3 July 2006〕 Susie Dent's annual ''Language Report'' for the Oxford University Press (2006) capitalised the entire acronym as "WAG" ("wife and/or girlfriend") .〔Susie Dent (2006) ''The like, Language Report for real''〕 "WAG"/"wag" came also to be used somewhat redundantly ("deluxe-edition Wag girlfriend"〔Rod Liddle, ''Sunday Times'', 13 August 2006〕), although in such usage "girlfriend" (or "wife") could be interpreted as further denotative specification within the set of people fitting both the denotation and the connotation of "WAG", and increasingly in non-footballing contexts: for example, the first wife of comedian Peter Cook (1937–95) was described as a "Sixties Wag"〔''Sunday Times News Review'', 24 September 2006〕 and actress Jennifer Ellison, because of her former choice of clothes, "once ... the epitome of a Wag".〔Reference was made to Ellison's erstwhile "short skirt, high heels, long talons and hair extensions" and the tenuous fact that she had once stepped out briefly with Liverpool and England player Steven Gerrard: ''London Lite'', 5 October 2006.〕 Fashion writer Shane Watson coined a collective noun, "waggery".〔''Sunday Times Style'', 17 September 2006〕 One can also be "Wagged" This type of acronym is of long standing in British English. For example, during the Second World War, a series of County War Agricultural Executive Committees or CWAECs was known widely as "War Ags".〔Daniel Smith (2011) ''The Spade as Mighty as the Sword''〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「WAGs」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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