pigsney

[ pigz-nee ]

/ ˈpɪgz ni /

noun Obsolete.

a darling.

an eye.

Nearby words

pigpen,
pigs,
pigs in blankets,
pigs' feet,
pigskin,
pigstick,
pigsticker,
pigsticking,
pigsty,
pigswill

Origin of pigsney

1350–1400; Middle English piggesnye, earlier piggesneyge, equivalent to pigges pig's (see pig¹, 's¹) + n- (probably extracted from an, indefinite article) + -ye, eyge eye

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

Examples from the Web for pigsney

See also pigsney in Todd's Johnson, where one quotation has the form pigs eie.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 5 (of 7) -- Notes to the Canterbury Tales|Geoffrey Chaucer

Word Origin and History for pigsney

pigsney

(obsolete), late 14c., endearing form of address to a girl or woman, apparently from Middle English pigges eye, literally "pig's eye," with excrescent -n- from min eye, an eye, etc. See OED for explanation of why this might have been felt as a compliment. In a pig's eye! as an adverse retort is recorded from 1872.