swine

[swahyn]

noun

plural

swine 

1. any stout, cloven-hoofed artiodactyl of the Old World family Suidae, having a thick hide sparsely covered with coarse hair, a disklike snout, and an often short, tasseled tail: now of worldwide distribution and hunted or raised for its meat and other products.

2. the domestic hog, Sus scrofa.

3. a coarse, gross, or brutishly sensual person.

4. a contemptible person.

swine

/ swaɪn /

noun

1. a coarse or contemptible person

2. another name for a pig

Other Word Forms

• swinelike adjective
• swinishness noun
• swinishly adverb
• swinish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of swine¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English swīn; cognate with German Schwein hog, Latin suīnus (adj.) porcine; akin to sow ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of swine¹

Old English swīn; related to Old Norse svīn, Gothic swein, Latin suīnus relating to swine

Idioms and Phrases

see cast pearls before swine.

Example Sentences

Zoetis saw a particularly steep decline in revenue for its swine and poultry medications.

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Zoetis saw a particularly steep decline in revenue for its swine and poultry medicines.

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Taiwan has culled dozens of pigs after detecting its first cases of African swine fever, with the agriculture ministry saying Thursday no other infections have been detected elsewhere on the island.

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The same goes for pigs — a single case was found among five backyard pigs in October in a non-commercial operation where swine mixed with poultry and other livestock.

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Human respiratory physiology is more like that of swines than felines.

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Related Words

• blackguard 
• bounder 
• cad 
• cur 
• knave 
• rogue 
• rotter 
• scoundrel 
• varlet 
• worm 
• wretch