biggin

¹

[ big-in ]

noun

, Archaic.

1. a close-fitting cap worn especially by children in the 16th and 17th centuries.
2. a soft cap worn while sleeping; nightcap.

biggin

²

[ big-in ]

noun

1. a coffeepot, usually silver, having a separate container in which the coffee is immersed while being boiled.

biggin

¹

/ ˈbɪɡɪn /

noun

1. a plain close-fitting cap, often tying under the chin, worn in the Middle Ages and by children in the 17th century

biggin

²

/ ˈbɪɡən /

noun

1. a construction, esp a house or cottage

Word History and Origins

Origin of biggin¹

1520–30; < Middle French beguin kind of hood or cap, originally one worn by a Beguine

Origin of biggin²

After Biggin, the name of its early 19th-century inventor

Word History and Origins

Origin of biggin¹

C16: from French béguin ; see beguine

Origin of biggin²

see big ²

Example Sentences

Almost as doubtful are the theories which would make the 'old mill' at Newport a Norse 'biggin.'

From Project Gutenberg

The coffee biggin, said to have been invented by a Mr. Biggin, came into common use in England for making coffee about 1817.

From Project Gutenberg

Any coffee pot with such a bag fitted into its mouth came to be spoken of as a coffee biggin.

From Project Gutenberg

A favorite device is the earthenware jug with or without the cotton sack that makes it a coffee biggin.

From Project Gutenberg

The Triumph coffee filter was a cloth-bag device which made any coffee pot a biggin.

From Project Gutenberg