pig1
- a young swine of either sex, especially a domestic hog, Sus scrofa, weighing less than 120 pounds (220 kg)
- any wild or domestic swine.
- the flesh of swine; pork.
- Informal. a person of piggish character, behavior, or habits, as one who is gluttonous, very fat, greedy, selfish, or filthy.
- Slang. an immoral woman; prostitute.
- Slang: Disparaging. a police officer.
- Slang. an extremely rude, ill-mannered person, especially one who is sexist or racist.
- Machinery. any tool or device, as a long-handled brush or scraper, used to clear the interior of a pipe or duct.
- Metallurgy.
- an oblong mass of metal that has been run while still molten into a mold of sand or the like, especially such a mass of iron from a blast furnace.
- one of the molds for such masses of metal.
- metal in the form of such masses.
- pig iron.
- to mold (metal) into pigs.
- Informal. to eat (something) quickly; gulp: He pigged three doughnuts and ran off to school.
- to bring forth pigs; farrow.
- pig out, Slang. to overindulge in eating: We pigged out on pizza last night.
- on the pig's back, Australian Slang. in a fortunate position.
- pig it,
- to live like a pig, especially in dirt.
- to lead a disorganized, makeshift life; live without plan or pattern.
Origin of pig1
pig2
- an earthenware crock, pot, pitcher, or jar.
- potter's clay; earthenware as a material.
Origin of pig2
Examples from the Web for pig
Contemporary Examples
He has said he believes Al Sharpton is a “race pimp” and a pig.
Unfortunately, neither of our teams had pinpointed the pig's burial site.
Knowing Where the Bodies Are Buried: An Excerpt From 'Lives in Ruins'Marilyn Johnson
November 14, 2014
Pig [growling sotto voce behind his hand, mock-furtive as a Disneyland Foxy Loxy]: Take 35 percent off the top and split!
Because too often, YouTube fame is as fleeting as a thirty-second video of a pig saving a goat from drowning.
Inside StyleHaul, the Largest Fashion Network on YouTube You’ve Never Heard OfLizzie Crocker
August 24, 2014
When we last left him, Hannibal convinced the pig farmer to eat his own face.
Hugh Dancy on ‘Hannibal’s’ Brilliantly Batsh*t Finale and the Future of Will GrahamMarlow Stern
May 24, 2014
Historical Examples
I hung it up this morning, for the pig with the black feet was eating it.
Riders to the SeaJ. M. Synge
Mr. COX said he could not smelt a pig, but he thought he smelt a rat.
He would have stuck that officer like a pig if he had seen him then.
The Secret AgentJoseph Conrad
A machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage.
The Devil's DictionaryAmbrose Bierce
Unless a pig is very small it is seldom sent to table whole.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesEliza Leslie
pig
- any artiodactyl mammal of the African and Eurasian family Suidae, esp Sus scrofa (domestic pig), typically having a long head with a movable snout, a thick bristle-covered skin, and, in wild species, long curved tusks
- a domesticated pig weighing more than 120 pounds (54 kg)Related adjective: porcine
- informal a dirty, greedy, or bad-mannered person
- the meat of swine; pork
- derogatory a slang word for policeman
- a mass of metal, such as iron, copper, or lead, cast into a simple shape for ease of storing or transportation
- a mould in which such a mass of metal is formed
- British informal something that is difficult or unpleasant
- an automated device propelled through a duct or pipeline to clear impediments or check for faults, leaks, etc
- a pig in a poke something bought or received without prior sight or knowledge
- make a pig of oneself informal to overindulge oneself
- on the pig's back Irish and NZ successful; establishedhe's on the pig's back now
- (intr) (of a sow) to give birth
- Also: pig it (intr) informal to live in squalor
- (tr) informal to devour (food) greedily
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for pig
n.
probably from Old English *picg, found in compounds, ultimate origin unknown. Originally "young pig" (the word for adults was swine). Apparently related to Low German bigge, Dutch big ("but the phonology is difficult" -- OED). The meaning "oblong piece of metal" is first attested 1580s, on the notion of "large mass." Applied to persons, usually in contempt, since 1540s; the derogatory slang meaning "police officer" has been in underworld slang since at least 1811.
The pigs frisked my panney, and nailed my screws; the officers searched my house, and seized my picklock keys. ["Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit and Pickpocket Eloquence," London, 1811]
Another Old English word for "pig" was fearh, related to furh "furrow," from PIE *perk- "dig, furrow" (cf. Latin porc-us "pig," see pork). "This reflects a widespread IE tendency to name animals from typical attributes or activities" [Lass]. Synonyms grunter, porker are from sailors' and fishermen's euphemistic avoidance of uttering the word pig at sea, a superstition perhaps based on the fate of the Gadarene swine, who drowned. The image of a pig in a poke is attested from 1520s (see poke (n.3)). Flying pigs as a type of something unreal is from 1610s.
v.
1670s, "to huddle together," from pig (n.). Related: Pigged; pigging. To pig out "eat voraciously" attested by 1979.
Idioms and Phrases with pig
pig
In addition to the idioms beginning with pig
- pig in a poke
- pig it
- pig out
also see:
- in a pig's eye
- like pigs in clover
- make a pig of oneself
- when pigs fly