egg
verbEtymology
The noun is derived from Middle English eg, egg, egge (“egg of a domestic or wild fowl; egg of a snake”) [and other forms] (originally Northern England and Northeast Midlands), from Old Norse egg (“egg”), from Proto-Germanic *ajją (“egg”) (by Holtzmann’s law), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (“egg”), probably from *h₂éwis (“bird”), from *h₂ew- (“to consume”). Doublet of huevo, oeuf, and ovum. Cognates Cognate with North Frisian ai (“egg”), Saterland Frisian Oai (“egg”), West Frisian aai, aei (“egg”), Bavarian Oa (“egg”), Dutch ei (“egg”), German Ei (“egg”), German Low German Ai, Ägg (“egg”), Limburgish ei, Éï (“egg”), Luxembourgish Ee (“egg”), Mòcheno oi (“egg”), Vilamovian e (“egg”), Yiddish איי (ey, “egg”), Danish æg (“egg”), Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk egg (“egg”), Swedish ägg (“egg”), Crimean Gothic ada (“egg”); also Breton vi (“egg”), Cornish oy (“egg”), Welsh wy (“egg”), Latin ōvum (“egg”), Greek αβγό (avgó), αυγό (avgó, “egg”), Albanian vo (“egg”), Belarusian and Russian яйцо́ (jajcó, “egg”), Bulgarian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”), Czech vejce (“egg”), Macedonian јајце (jajce, “egg”), Polish jajo (“egg”), Serbo-Croatian ја́јце, jájce (“egg”), Slovak vajce (“egg”), Slovene jájce (“egg”), Ukrainian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”), Ossetian айк (ajk), айкӕ (ajkæ, “egg”), Armenian ձու (ju, “egg”), Northern Kurdish hêk (“egg”), Southern Kurdish خا (xa, “egg”), Zazaki hak (“egg”), Pashto هګۍ (hagë́y), ويه (wë́ya, “egg”), Persian خاگ (xâg), خایه (xâye, “egg”). The native English ey [and other forms] (plural eyren) (obsolete), from Old English ǣġ, is also derived from Proto-Germanic *ajją. It survived into at least c. 16th century before being fully displaced by egg. The verb is derived from the noun.
To throw (especially rotten) eggs (noun sense 1.1.1) at (someone or something).
- The angry demonstrators egged the riot police.
- The students were caught egging the principal’s car as a prank.
1 more example
- Like I said before in that chapter, after that ultimate egging, Gay-D didn't mention anything about eggs again, but he meekly ask for us to stop egging Xander's door so that he wouldn't get blamed.2013 February, M. Golding, “Framing”, in How to Piss Off a Crappy Roommate: From A to Z, [Morrisville, N.C.]: Lulu, →ISBN, page 89:
To inadvertently or intentionally distort (the circular cross-section of something, such as tube) to an elliptical or oval shape.
- After I cut the tubing, I found that I had slightly egged it in the vise.
Cooking, Food, Lifestyle To coat (a food ingredient) with or dip (a food ingredient) in beaten egg (noun sense 1.1.1) during the process of preparing a dish.
- "Jemima, Jemima!—ve'll ha'e the viting biled instead of fried." "Ca'n't, marm," replied Jemima, "they be all hegged and crumbed, with their tails in their mouths."[1833, [Frederick Marryat], chapter I, in Peter Simple. […], volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], published 1834, →OCLC, page 8:
- Then mask another large piece with currant jelly, cover it as before, and after egging the edges, roll them over some coarse sugar, and put them immediately in the oven. Join the remaining pieces in the same manner, two and two, and after egging the edges as before, roll them alternately on pistachios and coarse sugar.1834, M[arie-]A[ntoine] Carême, edited by John Porter, The Royal Parisian Pastrycook and Confectioner: […], London: F. J. Mason, […], →OCLC, page 163:
To collect the eggs (noun sense 1.1) of wild birds.
- I was out with my girlfriend in Birmingham, when some colorful local told us not to egg.