English

Proper noun

Pig

1. The twelfth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.

English

Wikispecies

Domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domestica)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɪɡ/
• Rhymes: -ɪɡ

Noun

pig ‎(plural pigs)

1. Any of several mammalian species of the genus Sus, having cloven hooves, bristles and a nose adapted for digging; especially the domesticated farm animal Sus scrofa.

   The farmer kept a pen with two pigs that he fed from table scraps and field waste.

2. (specifically) A young swine, a piglet (contrasted with a hog, an adult swine).
   • 2005 April, Live Swine from Canada, Investigation No. 731-TA-1076 (Final), publication 3766, April 2005, U.S. International Trade Commission (ISBN 1457819899), page I-9:

     Weanlings grow into feeder pigs, and feeder pigs grow into slaughter hogs. […] Ultimately the end use for virtually all pigs and hogs is to be slaughtered for the production of pork and other products.

3. (uncountable) The edible meat of such an animal; pork.

   Some religions prohibit their adherents from eating pig.

   • 2005, Ross Eddy Osborn, Thorns of a Tainted Rose (ISBN 0741425319), page 196:

     "Miss Chastene, could you fetch me out an extra plate of pig and biscuit. My partner can't do without your marvelous cooking."

4. Someone who overeats or eats rapidly and noisily.

   You gluttonous pig! Now that you've eaten all the cupcakes, there will be none for the party!

5. A nasty or disgusting person, usually male.

   She considered him a pig as he invariably stared at her bosom when they talked.

6. A dirty or slovenly person.

   He was a pig and his apartment a pigpen; take-away containers and pizza boxes in a long, moldy stream lined his counter tops.

7. (now chiefly US, Britain, Australia, derogatory, slang) A police officer. [From ante 1785.]

   The protester shouted, “Don't give in to the pigs!” as he was arrested.

   • 1989, Dan Simmons, Carrion Comfort, page 359,

     “...Sounds too easy,” Marvin was saying. “What about the pigs?”

     He meant police.

   • 1990, Jay Robert Nash, Encyclopedia of World Crime: Volume 1: A-C, page 198,

     The bank robberies went on and each raid became more bloody, Meinhof encouraging her followers to “kill the pigs” offering the slightest resistance, referring to policemen.

   • 2008, Frank Kusch, Battleground Chicago: The Police and the 1968 Democratic National Convention, page 63,

     Backing 300 of the more aggressive protesters was a supporting cast of several thousand more who stared down the small line of police. Those in front resumed their taunts of “Pig, pig, fascist pig,” and “pigs eat ****, pigs eat ****.” The rest of the crowd, however, backed off and sat down on the grass when reinforcements arrived. Police did not retaliate for the name-calling, and within minutes the line of demonstrators broke apart and the incident was over without violence.¹¹³

   • 2011, T. J. English, The Savage City: Race, Murder and a Generation on the Edge, unnumbered page,

     But me, I joined the party to fight the pigs. That′s why I joined. Because my experience with the police was always negative.

8. (informal) A difficult problem.

   Hrm... this one's a real pig: I've been banging my head against the wall over it for hours!

9. (countable and uncountable) A block of cast metal.

   The conveyor carried the pigs from the smelter to the freight cars.

   After the ill-advised trade, the investor was stuck with worthless options for 10,000 tons of iron pig.

10. The mold in which a block of metal is cast.

    The pig was cracked, and molten metal was oozing from the side.

11. (engineering) A device for cleaning or inspecting the inside of an oil or gas pipeline, or for separating different substances within the pipeline. Named for the pig-like squealing noise made by their progress.

    Unfortunately, the pig sent to clear the obstruction got lodged in a tight bend, adding to the problem.

12. (pejorative) a person who is obese to the extent of resembling a pig (the animal)
13. (US, military, slang) The general-purpose M60 machine gun, considered to be heavy and bulky.

    Unfortunately, the M60 is about twenty-four pounds and is very unbalanced. You try carrying the pig around the jungle and see how you feel.

14. (uncountable) A simple dice game in which players roll the dice as many times as they like, either accumulating a greater score or losing previous points gained.

Synonyms

• (mammal of genus Sus): hog, swine, see also Wikisaurus:pig
• (someone who overeats or eats rapidly): see Wikisaurus:glutton
• (nasty or disgusting person): see Wikisaurus:jerk
• (police officer): see Wikisaurus:police officer
• (fat person): see Wikisaurus:fat person

Hyponyms

• (mammal of genus Sus): boar, herd boar; sow, brood sow; piglet, piggy

Derived terms

Translations

Descendants

• Abenaki: piks (from "pigs")
• Malecite-Passamaquoddy: piks (from "pigs")

Verb

pig ‎(third-person singular simple present pigs, present participle pigging, simple past and past participle pigged)

1. (of swine) to give birth.

   The black sow pigged at seven this morning.

2. (intransitive) To greedily consume (especially food).

   They were pigging on the free food at the bar.

   • 2009, Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice, Vintage 2010, page 349:

     "Wow, Doc. That's heavy." Denis sat there pigging on the joint as usual.

3. (intransitive) To huddle or lie together like pigs, in one bed.
4. (transitive, engineering) To clean (a pipeline) using a pig (the device).

Etymology 2

Origin unknown. See piggin.

Noun

pig ‎(plural pigs)

1. (Scotland) earthenware, or an earthenware shard
2. An earthenware hot-water jar to warm a bed; a stone bed warmer

Derived terms

• pig-man
• pig-wife
• pig-cart
• pig-ass
• pig-shop

References

1. ↑ A new English dictionary on historical principles
2. ↑ “pig” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
3. ↑ 2003, Victoria Fromkin, Robert Rodman, Nina M. Hyams, An Introduction to Language, page 474 — Similarly, the use of the word pig for “policeman” goes back at least as far as 1785, when a writer of the time called a Bow Street police officer a “China Street pig.”

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse pík.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /piɡ/, [pʰiɡ̊]
• Homophone: pik

Noun

pig c (singular definite piggen, plural indefinite pigge)

1. spike
2. barb
3. spine (needle-like structure)
4. quill (needle-like structure)
5. prickle (a small, sharp pointed object, such as a thorn)

Inflection

Scots

Etymology

From Middle English pigge, pygge, from Old English *picga ‎(“pig; pigling”), see pig.

Sense of "vessel; jar" is from Middle English pygg, perhaps an extension of the above.

Noun

pig ‎(plural pigs)

1. pig
2. pot, jar, earthenware

Derived terms

• pig-hoose
• pirlie pig
• uilie-pig
• whisky pig

Torres Strait Creole

Etymology

From English pig.

Noun

pig

1. pig

Synonyms

• pwaka

Welsh

Etymology

Cognate with Breton beg.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /piːg/

Noun

pig f (plural pigau)

1. beak, bill
2. point, spike
3. spout

Mutation