waggish (adj) - witty, playful, or mischievous [wag-ish]
a wag is a trickster, jokester, or rogue
wag as a verb means to move side to side or back and forth, often rapidly; to gossip or speak idly, as in wagging your tongue
waggery describes merriment, fun, or droll humor
BREAKDOWN: The word waggish is relatively new, first appearing in English in the 1500s, though wag as a noun to describe a fun-loving or droll scamp or scoundrel is older. Wag itself derives from the Middle English waggen and, before that, Old English wagian meaning move backwards and forwards. Related Scandinavian words evoke the rocking of a cradle. Ultimately, the word wag likely comes from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root VIA- meaning to go or move in words like convey, viaduct, and voyage.
“The tone of good conversation is brilliant and natural; it is neither tedious nor frivolous; it is instructive without pedantry, gay without tumultuousness, polished without affectation, gallant without insipidity, waggish without equivocation.” —Jean-Jacques Rousseau
[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not necessarily derived from classical roots.]