Lag of the tide

Lag Lag, n. 1. One who lags; that which comes in last. [Obs.] ``The lag of all the flock.'' --Pope. [1913 Webster]

2. The fag-end; the rump; hence, the lowest class. [1913 Webster]

The common lag of people. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

3. The amount of retardation of anything, as of a valve in a steam engine, in opening or closing. [1913 Webster]

4. A stave of a cask, drum, etc.; especially: (Mach.), one of the narrow boards or staves forming the covering of a cylindrical object, as a boiler, or the cylinder of a carding machine or a steam engine. [1913 Webster]

5. (Zo["o]l.) See {Graylag}. [1913 Webster]

6. The failing behind or retardation of one phenomenon with respect to another to which it is closely related; as, the lag of magnetization compared with the magnetizing force (hysteresis); the lag of the current in an alternating circuit behind the impressed electro-motive force which produced it. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

{Lag of the tide}, the interval by which the time of high water falls behind the mean time, in the first and third quarters of the moon; -- opposed to {priming} of the tide, or the acceleration of the time of high water, in the second and fourth quarters; depending on the relative positions of the sun and moon.

{Lag screw}, an iron bolt with a square head, a sharp-edged thread, and a sharp point, adapted for screwing into wood; a screw for fastening lags. [1913 Webster]