pig

[pig]

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noun

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.

verb (used with object), pigged, pig·ging.

to mold (metal) into pigs.

Informal. to eat (something) quickly; gulp: He pigged three doughnuts and ran off to school.

verb (used without object), pigged, pig·ging.

to bring forth pigs; farrow.

Verb Phrases

pig out, Slang. to overindulge in eating: We pigged out on pizza last night.

Idioms

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 pig

1175–1225; Middle English pigge young pig, with doubled consonant appropriate to terms for smaller animals (cf. dog, frog¹) but with no obvious relations; almost certainly not akin to Low German, Dutch big(ge), Middle Dutch vigghe young pig, which involve further obscurities; if Danish pige, Swedish piga maid, young girl are compared, perhaps < ON word meaning “young, small,” applied in Scand to girls but in OE to swine

pig

[pig]

noun Scot. and North England.

an earthenware crock, pot, pitcher, or jar.

potter's clay; earthenware as a material.

Origin of pig

1400–50; late Middle English pygg < ?

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for pig

hog, swine, boar, piglet, sow, porker, shoat, piggy, porky

Examples from the Web for pig

Contemporary Examples of pig

He has said he believes Al Sharpton is a “race pimp” and a pig.
How James Woods Became Obama’s Biggest Twitter Troll
Asawin Suebsaeng
December 31, 2014
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!
The Stacks: Grateful Dead I Have Known
Ed McClanahan
August 30, 2014
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 Of
Lizzie 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 Graham
Marlow Stern
May 24, 2014

Historical Examples of pig

I hung it up this morning, for the pig with the black feet was eating it.
Riders to the Sea
J. M. Synge
Mr. COX said he could not smelt a pig, but he thought he smelt a rat.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 8, May 21, 1870
Various
He would have stuck that officer like a pig if he had seen him then.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
A machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
Unless a pig is very small it is seldom sent to table whole.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie

British Dictionary definitions for pig

pig

noun

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

verb pigs, pigging or pigged

(intr) (of a sow) to give birth

Also: pig it (intr) informal to live in squalor

(tr) informal to devour (food) greedily

Word Origin for pig

C13 pigge, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pig

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.

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