biggin

¹ American  

[big-in] / ˈbɪg ɪn /

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.

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biggin ² American  

[big-in] / ˈbɪg ɪn /

noun

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

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biggin ¹ British  

/ 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

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biggin ² British  

/ ˈbɪɡən /

noun

1. a construction, esp a house or cottage

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Etymology

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

Example Sentences

They're biggin a boat, sir; and they like to hae me by them, as they big, to say sangs to them.

From Alec Forbes of Howglen by MacDonald, George

"Your biggin isna broken, sir,95 Nor is your towers won; But the fairest lady in a' the land This day for you maun burn."

From English and Scottish Ballads, Volume II (of 8) by Various

The Marion Harland pot was an improved metal coffee biggin.

From All About Coffee by Ukers, William H. (William Harrison)

Oswald’s wife then put before him a large pie, and some wheaten bread, with a biggin of good beer.

From The Children of the New Forest by Marryat, Frederick

It was a lowly thatched clay biggin; with two rooms on one floor, and at this time was being used as a public tavern.

From Adventures and Recollections by Bill o'th' Hoylus End