spigot

[spig-uh t]

See more synonyms for spigot on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small peg or plug for stopping the vent of a cask.
a peg or plug for stopping the passage of liquid in a faucet or cock.
a faucet or cock for controlling the flow of liquid from a pipe or the like.

the end of a pipe that enters the enlarged end of another pipe to form a joint.

Origin of spigot

1350–1400; Middle English spigot, perhaps < Old French *espigot < Old Provençal espig(a) (< Latin spīca ear of grain; see spica) + Old French -ot diminutive suffix

Regional variation note

3. See faucet.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for spigot

nozzle, valve, plug, vent, stopper, tap, spout, outlet, spile, stopple

Examples from the Web for spigot

Historical Examples of spigot

Represents a longitudinal section of a Spigot and Faucet Pipe.
A Practical Treatise on Gas-light
Fredrick Accum
He had corked three, but Jawleyford re-corked them, and Spigot was now reproducing them to our friends.
Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour
R. S. Surtees
Spigot, at this moment entering to announce tea and coffee, was interrupted in his oration by Sponge demanding some brandy.
Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour
R. S. Surtees
Spigot at last put an end to their efforts by announcing that 'tea and coffee were ready!'
Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour
R. S. Surtees

British Dictionary definitions for spigot

spigot

noun

a stopper for the vent hole of a cask
a tap, usually of wood, fitted to a cask
a US name for tap 2 (def. 1)
a short cylindrical projection on one component designed to fit into a hole on another, esp the male part of a joint (spigot and socket joint) between two pipes

Word Origin for spigot

C14: probably from Old Provençal espiga a head of grain, from Latin spīca a point

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 spigot

late 14c., "plug used to stop the hole of a cask," probably from Old French *espigot (cf. Gascony dialect espigot "core of a fruit, small ear of grain"), diminutive of Old Provençal espiga "ear of grain," from Latin spica "ear of grain" (see spike (n.2)). Meaning "valve for controlling the flow of a liquid" is from 1520s.