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Webster 1913 Edition

Egg

Egg

(ĕg)
,
Noun.
[OE., fr. Icel.
egg
; akin to AS.
æg
(whence OE.
ey
), Sw.
ägg
, Dan.
æg
, G. & D.
ei
, and prob. to OSlav.
aje
,
jaje
, L.
ovum
, Gr.
ὠ,όν
, Ir.
ugh
, Gael.
ubh
, and perh. to L.
avis
bird. Cf.
Oval
.]
1.
(Popularly)
The oval or roundish body laid by domestic poultry and other birds, tortoises, etc. It consists of a yolk, usually surrounded by the “white” or albumen, and inclosed in a shell or strong membrane.
2.
(Biol.)
A simple cell, from the development of which the young of animals are formed; ovum; germ cell.
3.
Anything resembling an egg in form.
☞ Egg is used adjectively, or as the first part of self-explaining compounds; as, egg beater or egg-beater, egg case, egg ladle, egg-shaped, etc.
Egg and anchor
(Arch.)
,
see
egg-and-dart
in the vocabulary, below; – called also
egg and dart
, and
egg and tongue
. See
Anchor
,
Noun.
, 5.
Ogilvie.
–
Egg cleavage
(Biol.)
,
a process of cleavage or segmentation, by which the egg undergoes endogenous division with formation of a mass of nearly similar cells, from the growth and differentiation of which the new organism is ultimately formed. See
Segmentation of the ovum
, under
Segmentation
.
–
Egg development
(Biol.)
,
the process of the development of an egg, by which the embryo is formed.
–
Egg mite
(Zoöl.)
,
any mite which devours the eggs of insects, as
Nothrus ovivorus
, which destroys those of the canker worm.
–
Egg parasite
(Zoöl.)
,
any small hymenopterous insect, which, in the larval stage, lives within the eggs of other insects. Many genera and species are known.

Egg

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Egged
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Egging
.]
[OE.
eggen
, Icel.
eggja
, fr.
egg
edge. [GREEK][GREEK]. See
Edge
.]
To urge on; to instigate; to incite[GREEK]
Adam and Eve he
egged
to ill.
Piers Plowman.
[She] did
egg
him on to tell
How fair she was.
Warner.

Webster 1828 Edition

Egg

EGG

,
Noun.
[L. ovum, by a change of g into v.] A body formed in the females of fowls and certain other animals, containing an embryo or fetus of the same species, or the substance from which a like animal is produced. The eggs of fowls when laid are covered with a shell, and within is the white or albumen, which incloses the yolk or yellow substance. The eggs of fish and some other animals are united by a viscous substance, and called spawn. Most insects are oviparous.
Egg, to incite, is a more blunder. [See Edge.]

Definition 2024

Egg

Egg

See also: egg

English

Proper noun

Egg

  1. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) A male given name.
  2. A surname​.

egg

egg

See also: Egg

English

Chicken eggs in a nest
An egg being cooked for food
An Easter egg made of chocolate and caramel

Noun

egg ‎(plural eggs)

  1. (zoology, countable) An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, reptiles, insects and other animals, housing the embryo during its development.
  2. (countable, uncountable) The egg of a domestic fowl (especially a hen) or its contents, used as food.
    I also determine the minimal amount of egg required to make good mayonnaise.‎
    We made a big omelette with three eggs.‎
    The farmer offered me some fresh eggs, but I told him I was allergic to egg.‎
  3. (biology, countable) The female primary cell, the ovum.
    • 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
      Many genes with reproductive roles also have antibacterial and immune functions, which indicate that the threat of microbial attack on the sperm or egg may be a major influence on rapid evolution during reproduction.
  4. Anything shaped like an egg, such as an Easter egg or a chocolate egg.
  5. A swelling on one's head, usually large or noticeable, associated with an injury.
  6. (mildly pejorative, slang, ethnic slur), (potentially offensive) A person of Caucasian (Western) ancestry, who has a strong desire to learn about and immerse him- or herself in East Asian culture, and/or such a person who is perceived as behaving as if he or she were Asian (from the "white" outside and "yellow" inside).
  7. (New Zealand, pejorative) A foolish or obnoxious person.
    Shut up, you egg!‎
  8. (informal) A person, fellow.
    good egg‎
    bad egg‎
    tough egg‎
Derived terms
Translations
body housing an embryo

Verb

egg ‎(third-person singular simple present eggs, present participle egging, simple past and past participle egged)

  1. To throw eggs at.
  2. To dip in or coat with beaten egg (cooking).
  3. To distort a circular cross-section (as in a tube) to an elliptical or oval shape, either inadvertently or intentionally.
    After I cut the tubing, I found that I had slightly egged it in the vise.
Translations

See also

Etymology 2

From Old Norse eggja ‎(“to incite”), from egg ‎(“edge”).

Verb

egg ‎(third-person singular simple present eggs, present participle egging, simple past and past participle egged)

  1. (transitive, obsolete except in egg on) To encourage, incite.
Derived terms
Translations

Faroese

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ɛkː]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse egg, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Noun

egg n (genitive singular egs, plural egg)

  1. egg
Declension
n23 Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative egg eggið egg eggini
Accusative egg eggið egg eggini
Dative eggi egginum egg(j)um egg(j)unum
Genitive egs egsins eggja eggjanna
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From the Old Norse egg, from Proto-Germanic *agjō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- ‎(“sharp, pointed”).

Noun

egg f (genitive singular eggjar, plural eggjar)

  1. blade, edge
  2. border, edge of a cliff
Declension
f8 Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative egg eggin eggjar eggjarnar
Accusative egg eggina eggjar eggjarnar
Dative egg eggini eggjum eggjunum
Genitive eggjar eggjarinnar eggja eggjanna

German

Verb

egg

  1. Imperative singular of eggen.
  2. (colloquial)  First-person singular present of eggen.

Icelandic

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɛkː/
  • Rhymes: -ɛkː

Etymology 1

From Old Norse egg, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm. Cognate with Old English ǣġ (obsolete English ey); Swedish ägg; Old High German ei (German Ei).

Noun

egg n ‎(genitive singular eggs, nominative plural egg)

  1. (zoology) an egg
  2. an oval shaped object
  3. the ovum
Declension
Synonyms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Old Norse egg, from Proto-Germanic *agjō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- ‎(“sharp, pointed”).

Cognates include Old Frisian egg, Old Saxon eggia, Dutch egge; Old English ecg (English edge); Old High German egga (German Ecke); Swedish egg.

The Indo-European root is also the source of Latin aciēs ‎(“edge, sharpness”), Ancient Greek ἀκίς ‎(akís, “point”).

Noun

egg f ‎(genitive singular eggjar, nominative plural eggjar)

  1. (weaponry) the sharp edge of a knife, sword, or similar
  2. a sharp edge on a mountain
Declension
Synonyms
  • (sharp edge): blað
  • (mountain): fjallsegg
Derived terms
  • fjallsegg
Derived terms
  • með oddi og egg/með oddi og eggju

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse egg, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Noun

egg n ‎(definite singular egget, indefinite plural egg, definite plural egga or eggene)

  1. an egg
    et kokt egg‎ ― a boiled egg

Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse egg, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Noun

egg n ‎(definite singular egget, indefinite plural egg, definite plural egga)

  1. an egg

Derived terms

References

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Noun

egg n (genitive eggs, plural egg)

  1. egg

Descendants

  • Danish: æg
  • English: egg (replaced native Old English æġ)
  • Faroese: egg
  • Icelandic: egg
  • Norwegian: egg (Bokmål), egg (Nynorsk)
  • Swedish: ägg

References

  • Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse egg, from Proto-Germanic *agjō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- ‎(“sharp, pointed”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɛɡː/
  • Homophone: ägg

Noun

egg c

  1. The sharp edge of a cutting tool.

Declension

Inflection of egg 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative egg eggen eggar eggarna
Genitive eggs eggens eggars eggarnas

Related terms

References

Etymology

From Middle English egge, from Old Norse egg ‎(“egg”), from Proto-Germanic *ajją ‎(“egg”), by Holtzmann's Law, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm ‎(“egg”). Cognate with Icelandic egg ‎(“egg”), Norwegian egg ‎(“egg”), Swedish ägg ‎(“egg”), Danish æg ‎(“egg”). The native English ey (plural eyren), akin to Dutch ei (plural eieren) and German Ei (plural Eier) and ultimately from the same Proto-Germanic root, survived into the 16th century before being fully displaced by egg. More at ey.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: ĕg, IPA(key): /ɛɡ/
  • (also) enPR: āg, IPA(key): /eɪɡ/
  • Rhymes: -ɛɡ

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