Agog

adjective

  • Characterized by, or provoked to, intense expectancy and/or enthusiasm, usually in anticipation of something occurring

  • To be captivated or enthralled with a thing, idea, or event

Usage

We hope you are all agog about this word because we sure are! Learning new words and how they are used is utterly exciting for logophiles, who live to research their meanings. But maybe you’re not waiting with bated breath to learn how agog is used, or maybe you still need to be convinced of just how enticing words can be. Well, introducing yourself to new vocabulary gives you so many more ways to express yourself to others! You’ll see soon enough, as the word agog says and means so much more than your enthusiasm for language. So, buckle up, and prepare yourself for some wide-eyed expectancy!

Agog describes someone who is intensely eager or impatient to see, hear, or do something. A parent who is agog over the arrival of her new child is not simply looking forward to a new addition to the family. Rather, this soon-to-be mother is likely counting down the days, hours, and minutes until the fateful introduction! While being agog may or may not include some feeling anxiety over the event to come, the prevailing mood consists of joy-filled, breathless anticipation. Just imagine how you felt waking up on your 5th birthday. You literally couldn’t wait to open the presents that would greet you downstairs! This kind of passionate curiosity and unwavering excitement isn’t limited to children, although they are sometimes the best at displaying it. At the beginning of the season, avid football fans are agog at the newest draft picks, and dying to see their teams make a good showing in their first game.

Though many are agog over future events, current happenings can certainly cause someone to be agog, especially if it’s surprising. When the world first learned about how two friends, John Rendall and Anthony Bourke, reunited with a lion they had raised and released back into the wild, people everywhere were agog that the now wild Christian had remembered and greeted his previous owners with kisses. The millions of viewers who watched the heartwarming video were enamored with the story of love and friendship that went across time and species. News that is simply fascinating, such as the discoveries of new planets or the announcement of yet another Pirates of the Caribbean movie, would likely enthrall respective enthusiasts and leave them wanting more.

This adjective isn’t limited to one type of sentence structure or phrasing to describe something or someone as being breathlessly eager; it can be used with the prepositions about, with, for, upon, at, and on. Additionally, the phrase to set agog is used to convey the action of “egging on” or “exciting” someone over something, making him or her long or desire for a future state or event. For instance, a coach may set his players agog with the news of their invitation to the playoff games.

Example: The sudden burst of sunlight through the clouds had the birds agog.

Example: Mother was agog over the new couch set in the living room.

Example: The students were agog for the promise of summer vacation.

Origin

Although it would seem to make sense that agog comes from the word goggle, in keeping with the “wide-eyed” nature of many awestruck people, it does not. Agog actually comes from the Middle French word en gogues, which could be translated as “full of humor or glee.” These feelings of joy become apparent when one is filled with a rush of excitement or anticipation. Agog is also possibly related to the French á gogo, meaning “as much as you like,” usually used in the context of eating or drinking (i.e. to eat to one’s fill). Another relation is to the Italian infinitive agognare, which means “to yearn or desire with intensity.” The first known use of agog is in the mid-16th century.

In Literature

From The New Yorker’s “Star Wars”: Just Let It In:

Last night…ESPN announcer Mike Tirico said, “For many of you, I know, this is a moment you will never forget.” He wasn’t talking about Eli Manning’s latest interception but instead introducing the world première of the first full trailer for Disney’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Tirico’s statement was surely meant to evoke standing in a sweaty movie line in the summer of 1977, or else sitting agog in the dark in your friend’s basement, or whatever other memories viewers might have of their first encounter with “Star Wars.”

Here, the word agog is used to highlight the overwhelming exhilaration of fans when they first heard the news of another Star Wars movie so many years after the trilogy’s first debut. The awakened excitement is being compared to the sheer breathlessness of moviegoers so many summers ago when the magic of the sci-fi epic first began…

Mnemonic

  • A fly on a log! The frog was agog.

  • Agog at the slop, the hog flopped and flopped.

Tags

Excitement, Impatience, Star Wars

Bring out the linguist in you! What is your own interpretation of agog. Did you use agog in a game? Provide an example sentence or a literary quote.