peg

n. [ OE. pegge; cf. Sw. pigg, Dan. pig a point, prickle, and E. peak. ] 1. A small, pointed piece of wood, used in fastening boards together, in attaching the soles of boots or shoes, etc.; as, a shoe peg. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A wooden pin, or nail, on which to hang things, as coats, etc. Hence, colloquially and figuratively: A support; a reason; a pretext; as, a peg to hang a claim upon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. One of the pins of a musical instrument, on which the strings are strained. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. One of the pins used for marking points on a cribbage board. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A step; a degree; esp. in the slang phrase “To take one down a peg.” [ 1913 Webster ]

To screw papal authority to the highest peg. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

And took your grandees down a peg. Hudibras. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A drink of spirits, usually whisky or brandy diluted with soda water. [ India ]

This over, the club will be visited for a “peg, ” Anglice drink. Harper's Mag. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

7. (Baseball) a hard throw, especially one made to put out a baserunner; as, the peg to the plate went wild. [ PJC ]

peg board, a board with multiple small holes into which pegs can be inserted in different arrays so as to form hooks from which to hang tools or other objects for convenient access; it is typically hung from a wall in a workshop. --
Peg ladder, a ladder with but one standard, into which cross pieces are inserted. --
Peg tankard, an ancient tankard marked with pegs, so as divide the liquor into equal portions. “Drink down to your peg.” Longfellow. --
Peg tooth. See Fleam tooth under Fleam. --
Peg top, a boy's top which is spun by throwing it. --
Screw peg, a small screw without a head, for fastening soles. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Pegged p. pr. & vb. n. Pegging ] 1. To put pegs into; to fasten the parts of with pegs; as, to peg shoes; to confine with pegs; to restrict or limit closely. [ 1913 Webster ]

I will rend an oak
And peg thee in his knotty entrails. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Cribbage) To score with a peg, as points in the game; as, she pegged twelwe points. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To identify; to recognize; as, she pegged him as a good carpenter; he was pegged as a blowhard as soon as he started speaking; he was pegged as a exceptional player even in high school. [ PJC ]

4. (Baseball) To throw (a ball); as, he pegged the runner out at second. [ PJC ]

‖n. [ Sp., a sticker. ] (Zool.) A species of remora (Echeneis naucrates). See Remora. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to Pegasus, or, figuratively, to poetry. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pegasus + -oid. ] (Zool.) Like or pertaining to Pegasus. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., fr. Gr. Ph`gasos. ] 1. (Gr. Myth.) A winged horse fabled to have sprung from the body of Medusa when she was slain. He is noted for causing, with a blow of his hoof, Hippocrene, the inspiring fountain of the Muses, to spring from Mount Helicon. On this account he is, in modern times, associated with the Muses, and with ideas of poetic inspiration. [ 1913 Webster ]

Each spurs his jaded Pegasus apace. Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Astron.) A northen constellation near the vernal equinoctial point. Its three brightest stars, with the brightest star of Andromeda, form the square of Pegasus. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) A genus of small fishes, having large pectoral fins, and the body covered with hard, bony plates. Several species are known from the East Indies and China. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Tapering toward teh bottom; as, pegged pants. [ PJC ]

n. One who fastens with pegs. [ 1913 Webster ]