Definition 1: Intensely eager; keenly excited about something.

Usage 1: Probably because of the initial a-, today's word is treated as a special adjectival type that behaves more like an adverb in that it can only modify verbs and appear only in predicate position. You may say, "The girls were all agog at the Mummers' parade" but you may not mention "the agog girls." No noun derives from this word, no "agogness" to speak of (so don't speak of it). Since it serves as an adverb without the suffix -ly, it is probably best to call it an adverb though it is as peculiar an adverb as it would be an adjective.

Suggested usage: To review, today's word may be used as an adverb, "Mona Getsche stared agog at the oddly shaped aliens pouring from the space ship in her back yard," or a predicate adjective, "The aliens were simply agog at the sea of glittering Christmas lights that had seemingly taken possession of Mona Getsche's neighborhood." It cannot be used in any other way.

Etymology: Middle English agogge, from Old French en gogue "in merriment" from en "in" + gogue "merriment." The origin of French gogue is unknown but it may be related to gogo "galore" in the French phrase vivre à gogo "to live in the lap of luxury." This term became a popular name of French bars and nightclubs in the 60s (e.g. the famous "Le Whisky à Gogo" in Paris). After being confused with the reduplicative adverb, "go-go-go," this word took on the meaning of "fast, accelerated" and was attached to discothèques in the 70s, where the music and dancing was fast and furious. Today's word then shortened to an adjective, as in the "go-go girls," who shocked the sensibilities of the time with their vinyl (micro)miniskirts, hot pants, and boots. (Yet another contribution of Mary Beltran to our Word of the Day series leaves us all agog.)