Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a young swine of either sex, especially a domestic hog, Sus scrofa, weighing less than 120 pounds (220 kg)
- any wild or domestic swine.
- the flesh of swine; pork.
- Informal. a person of piggish character, behavior, or habits, as one who is gluttonous, very fat, greedy, selfish, or filthy.
- Slang. an immoral woman; prostitute.
- Slang: Disparaging. a police officer.
- Slang. an extremely rude, ill-mannered person, especially one who is sexist or racist.
- Machinery. any tool or device, as a long-handled brush or scraper, used to clear the interior of a pipe or duct.
- Metallurgy.
- an oblong mass of metal that has been run while still molten into a mold of sand or the like, especially such a mass of iron from a blast furnace.
- one of the molds for such masses of metal.
- metal in the form of such masses.
- pig iron.
verb (used with object), pigged, pig·ging.
- to mold (metal) into pigs.
- Informal. to eat (something) quickly; gulp: He pigged three doughnuts and ran off to school.
verb (used without object), pigged, pig·ging.
- to bring forth pigs; farrow.
Verb Phrases
- pig out, Slang. to overindulge in eating: We pigged out on pizza last night.
Idioms
- on the pig’s back, Australian Slang. in a fortunate position.
- pig it,
- to live like a pig, especially in dirt.
- to lead a disorganized, makeshift life; live without plan or pattern.
noun Scot. and North England.
- an earthenware crock, pot, pitcher, or jar.
- potter’s clay; earthenware as a material.
noun
- any artiodactyl mammal of the African and Eurasian family Suidae, esp Sus scrofa (domestic pig), typically having a long head with a movable snout, a thick bristle-covered skin, and, in wild species, long curved tusks
- a domesticated pig weighing more than 120 pounds (54 kg)Related adjective: porcine
- informal a dirty, greedy, or bad-mannered person
- the meat of swine; pork
- derogatory a slang word for policeman
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- a mass of metal, such as iron, copper, or lead, cast into a simple shape for ease of storing or transportation
- a mould in which such a mass of metal is formed
- British informal something that is difficult or unpleasant
- an automated device propelled through a duct or pipeline to clear impediments or check for faults, leaks, etc
- a pig in a poke something bought or received without prior sight or knowledge
- make a pig of oneself informal to overindulge oneself
- on the pig’s back Irish and NZ successful; establishedhe’s on the pig’s back now
verb pigs, pigging or pigged
- (intr) (of a sow) to give birth
- Also: pig it (intr) informal to live in squalor
- (tr) informal to devour (food) greedily
n.probably from Old English *picg, found in compounds, ultimate origin unknown. Originally “young pig” (the word for adults was swine). Apparently related to Low German bigge, Dutch big (“but the phonology is difficult” — OED). The meaning “oblong piece of metal” is first attested 1580s, on the notion of “large mass.” Applied to persons, usually in contempt, since 1540s; the derogatory slang meaning “police officer” has been in underworld slang since at least 1811. The pigs frisked my panney, and nailed my screws; the officers searched my house, and seized my picklock keys. [“Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit and Pickpocket Eloquence,” London, 1811] Another Old English word for “pig” was fearh, related to furh “furrow,” from PIE *perk- “dig, furrow” (cf. Latin porc-us “pig,” see pork). “This reflects a widespread IE tendency to name animals from typical attributes or activities” [Lass]. Synonyms grunter, porker are from sailors’ and fishermen’s euphemistic avoidance of uttering the word pig at sea, a superstition perhaps based on the fate of the Gadarene swine, who drowned. The image of a pig in a poke is attested from 1520s (see poke (n.3)). Flying pigs as a type of something unreal is from 1610s. v.1670s, “to huddle together,” from pig (n.). Related: Pigged; pigging. To pig out “eat voraciously” attested by 1979. In addition to the idioms beginning with pig
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