One of my students asked me this one. Can’t find anything in the dictionary or on a search engine. I assume they are using the definition of “old lady” not the witch. Codger is the only thing that comes to my mind, but I don’t think it is gender specific.
Codger is a fairly good match. According to Dictionary.com, codger is gender specific:
3 entries found for Codger.
codg·er ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kjr)
n. Informal
A somewhat eccentric man, especially an old one.
Geezer?
Probably not an exact equivalent. My dictonary says it’s from the Middle English hagge, in turn probably from the Old English haegtesse, witch. Tell 'em it’s “hog” and see what they say.
Etymologically, according to the OED, it’s related to “hex” and is an abbreviation from a much longer Teutonic root (*hagutason-, or something like that). There seems to be no male equivalent for the old meaning.
In modern usage, I’d say that “coot” or “geezer” come closest to describing in a man what we attribute when we say “hag”.
My male algebra teacher can be closely described as a “hag”
-PK
How about “Old Fart”?
Dunno if this is used much in the US, but we in the UK call them
Gits.
Old Fart was the first thing that occurred to me.
what about ‘curmudgeon’. It is not a word used all that often.
“Hag” as we think of it has a connotation of malevolence. Think actress Louise Emmons in the 1933 “Our Gang” short Mush and Milk.
The terms already mentioned have connotations of eccentricity, but not malevolence.
How about “beausieur?” Another word for “hag” is “beldam.” This would be the masculine version.
thanks for your help, I am sure that my class will be impressed.
A male “bag lady” is a bagwan.
Perhaps a gentleman hag is a hack.
“Nasty old Troll”?
i’m thinking ‘coot’
I don’t know if there is a male equivalent. A “hag” is old, ugly, and mean. “Codger,” "geezer, “coot,” etc. don’t necessarily imply meanness.
FWIW, my next door neighbor is a real life hag. I laughed for a whole day when I first realized that “hag” was just the right word for her. Hag hag hag. She’s a mean old hag! She’s not a toothless hag, though. She does have a tooth.