pig

pig
\ \ [13] The word pig is not recorded until the Middle English period, although it is assumed to have existed in Old English as *picga or *pigga.
\ \ It originally meant ‘young pig’, and did not become the general term for ‘pig’ until the 16th century (the usual word in Old and Middle English was swine). Piglet is a late 19th-century coinage. It is not known where the word pig came from, although some have suggested a connection with Old English pīc ‘pointed object’ (source of modern English pike), perhaps in allusion to the pig’s pointed muzzle (if that is the truth of the matter, pig may be parallel as an animal-name with pike).

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • PIG — (Heb. חֲזִיר, ḥazir). Included in the Pentateuch among the unclean animals prohibited as food is the pig which, although cloven footed, is a nonruminant (Lev. 11:7; Deut. 16:8). It is the sole unclean animal mentioned as possessing these… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Pig — steht für: Parlamentsinformationsgesetz, Gesetze, die die Informationspflichten der Landesregierung gegenüber dem Landtag zum Gegenstand haben PIG Stadtmagazin, in Göppingen Pig (engl. Schwein) steht für: Blodwyn Pig, eine britische Rockgruppe… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • pig — [pig] n. pl. pigs or pig [ME pigge, orig., young pig (replacing OE swin) < OE * picga, as in picgbread, mast, pig s food] 1. any swine, esp. the unweaned young of the thick bodied domesticated species (Sus scrofa): see HOG (sense 1) 2. meat… …   English World dictionary

  • Pig — Pig, n. [Cf. D. big, bigge, LG. bigge, also Dan. pige girl, Sw. piga, Icel. p[=i]ka.] 1. The young of swine, male or female; also, any swine; a hog. Two pigges in a poke. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 2. (Zo[ o]l.) Any wild species of the genus {Sus}… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • PIG — steht für: Parlamentsinformationsgesetz, Gesetze, die die Informationspflichten der Landesregierung gegenüber dem Landtag zum Gegenstand haben PIG Stadtmagazin, in Göppingen proximales (körpernahes) Interphalangealgelenk Pig (engl. Schwein) steht …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • pig — ► NOUN 1) a domesticated mammal with sparse bristly hair and a flat snout, kept for its meat. 2) a wild animal related to the domestic pig. 3) informal a greedy, dirty, or unpleasant person. 4) informal, derogatory a police officer. 5) an oblong… …   English terms dictionary

  • pig — (n.) probably from O.E. *picg, found in compounds, ultimate origin unknown. Originally young pig (the word for adults was swine). Another Old English word for pig was fearh, related to furh furrow, from PIE *perk dig, furrow (Cf. L. porc us pig,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • pig|gy — «PIHG ee», noun, plural gies, adjective, gi|er, gi|est. –n. a little pig. –adj. like a pig; piggish: »Henry VIII…is even piggier (Punch) …   Useful english dictionary

  • Pig — Pig, n. A piggin. [Written also {pigg}.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pig — Pig, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. {Pigged}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Pigging}.] 1. To bring forth (pigs); to bring forth in the manner of pigs; to farrow. [1913 Webster] 2. To huddle or lie together like pigs, in one bed. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pig — der; s, s <aus gleichbed. engl. pig> (ugs. abwertend) Polizist …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

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