English
pig
see also: PIG, Pig, pIg
Etymology 1

From Middle English pigge (originally a term for a young pig, with adult pigs being swyn), apparently from Old English *picga (attested only in compounds, such as picgbrēad), from Proto-West Germanic *piggō, *puggō.

A connection to early modern Dutch bigge (contemporary big), Western Frisian bigge and similar terms in Middle Low German - is sometimes proposed, "but the phonology is difficult". Some sources say the words are "almost certainly not" related, others consider a relation "probable, but not certain".

The slang sense of "police officer" is attested since at least 1785.

Pronunciation Noun

pig

  1. Any of several mammalian species of the genus Sus, having cloven hooves, bristles and a nose adapted for digging; especially the domesticated animal Sus domesticus.
    Synonyms: Thesaurus:pig
    The man kept a pen with two pigs that he fed everything from carrots to cabbage.
    • 1855, Charles Kingsley, “How Salvation Yeo Slew the King of the Gubbings”, in Westward Ho!: Or, The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, […], volume II, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC ↗, page 113 ↗:
      […] and at the back a rambling courtledge of barns and walls, around which pigs and bare-foot children grunted in loving communion of dirt.
    1. (specifically) A young swine, a piglet (contrasted with a hog, an adult swine).
  2. (uncountable) The edible meat of such an animal; pork.
    Some religions prohibit their adherents from eating pig.
  3. (uncountable) A light pinkish-red colour, like that of a pig (also called pig pink).
     
    • 2019, Bee Smith, Queen Bee's Party:
      So far on the streets there's been a lot of metallic pink (the kind of pink as in the shade of pig you get, and this is exactly the shade of the diary I've been writing in) […]
  4. (metaphorically, derogatory) Someone who overeats or eats rapidly and noisily.
    Synonyms: Thesaurus:glutton
    You gluttonous pig! Now that you've eaten all the cupcakes, there will be none for the party!
  5. (metaphorically, derogatory) A lecherous or sexist man.
    She considered him a pig, as he invariably stared at her bosom when they talked.
  6. (metaphorically, derogatory) 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. (metaphorically, derogatory) An obese person.
    Synonyms: Thesaurus:fat person
  8. (now, chiefly, US, UK, Irish, Australia, NZ, HK, India, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, offensive, slang) A police officer. [From ante 1785.]
    Synonyms: Thesaurus:police officer
    The protester shouted, “Don't give in to the pigs!” as he was arrested.
  9. (informal) A difficult problem.
    Hrm... this one's a real pig: I've been banging my head against the wall over it for hours!
    Chewing-gum is a pig to get out of your hair.
  10. (countable and uncountable) An oblong block of cast metal (now only iron or lead).
    The conveyor carried the pigs from the smelter to the freight cars.
  11. The mold in which a block of metal is cast.
    The pig was cracked, and molten metal was oozing from the side.
  12. A lead container used for radioactive waste.
    • 2015, Tom Clynes, The Boy Who Played with Fusion, page 36:
      Taylor also bought a pig—a radiation-shielding container made of thick lead—to stash the most radioactive materials in.
    • 2015, Adrianne Dill Linton, Introduction to Medical-Surgical Nursing, page 394:
      Forceps and a lead container (called a pig) that are routinely placed in the room are used to retrieve and contain the source.
  13. (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.
  14. (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.
  15. (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.
  16. (UK, slang, obsolete) A sixpence.
    Synonyms: sow's baby
  17. (US, slang) A Cadillac car.
  18. (US, slang) A Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Verb

pig (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, published 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. (intransitive) To live together in a crowded filthy manner.
  5. (transitive, engineering) To clean (a pipeline) using a pig .
Noun

pig (plural pigs)

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

pig

  1. Persuade, Identify, GOTV, an electoral technique commonly employed in the United Kingdom.
  2. Police in gear.
  3. Acronym of pipe inspection gauge
Pig
Proper noun
  1. The twelfth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.
pIg
Noun

pig (plural pigs)

  1. (medicine, biology) Abbreviation of polyclonal immunoglobulin


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