From Middle English pigge (“pig, piglet”) (originally a term for a young pig, with adult pigs being swyn (“swine”)), from Old English *picga, *pycga (attested in picgbrēad (“mast, pig-fodder”)), perhaps a diminutive of Proto-West Germanic *puk, *pūk (“pig”), which also gave rise to Middle Low German pûke, puyke (“pig, piglet”). Pokorny suggests this root might be somehow related to *bū-, *bew- (“to blow; swell”), which could account for the alternation between "pig" and "big". Compare Middle Dutch pogge, puggen, pigge, pegsken (> dialectal Dutch pogge (“piglet”)), Middle Low German pugge (> Westphalian German Low German Pogge, Pugge, Püggsken (“pig, piglet”)). A connection to early modern Dutch bigge (modern Dutch big (“piglet”)), West Frisian bigge (“piglet”), German Low German Bigge, Bigg (“piglet”), and Saterland Frisian Bikkie (“piggy”) 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.
1
Of swine To give birth.
The black sow pigged at seven this morning.
2
To greedily consume (especially food).
They were pigging on the free food at the bar.
"Wow, Doc. That's heavy." Denis sat there pigging on the joint as usual.2009, Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice, Vintage, published 2010, page 349:
3
To huddle or lie together like pigs, in one bed.
4
To live together in a crowded filthy manner.
5
Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences To clean (a pipeline) using a pig (the device).
Derived terms
piggable
PIG
noun
1
Persuade, Identify, GOTV, an electoral technique commonly employed in the United Kingdom.
2
Police in gear.
3
Abbreviation, Acronym Acronym of pipe inspection gauge.
pig
noun
Etymology
From Middle English pigge (“pig, piglet”) (originally a term for a young pig, with adult pigs being swyn (“swine”)), from Old English *picga, *pycga (attested in picgbrēad (“mast, pig-fodder”)), perhaps a diminutive of Proto-West Germanic *puk, *pūk (“pig”), which also gave rise to Middle Low German pûke, puyke (“pig, piglet”). Pokorny suggests this root might be somehow related to *bū-, *bew- (“to blow; swell”), which could account for the alternation between "pig" and "big". Compare Middle Dutch pogge, puggen, pigge, pegsken (> dialectal Dutch pogge (“piglet”)), Middle Low German pugge (> Westphalian German Low German Pogge, Pugge, Püggsken (“pig, piglet”)). A connection to early modern Dutch bigge (modern Dutch big (“piglet”)), West Frisian bigge (“piglet”), German Low German Bigge, Bigg (“piglet”), and Saterland Frisian Bikkie (“piggy”) 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.
Any of several mammalian species of the family Suidae, having cloven hooves, bristles and a snout adapted for digging; especially the domesticated animal Sus domesticus.
The man kept a pen with two pigs that he fed everything from carrots to cabbage.
[…]and at the back a rambling courtledge of barns and walls, around which pigs and bare-foot children grunted in loving communion of dirt.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:
2
Specifically A young swine, a piglet (contrasted with a hog, an adult swine).
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.2005 April, Live Swine from Canada, Investigation No. 731-TA-1076 (Final), publication 3766, April 2005, U.S. International Trade Commission, →ISBN, page I-9:
3
The edible meat of such an animal; pork.
Some religions prohibit their adherents from eating pig.
"Miss Chastene, could you fetch me out an extra plate of pig and biscuit. My partner can't do without your marvelous cooking."2005, Ross Eddy Osborn, Thorns of a Tainted Rose, →ISBN, page 196:
4
A light pinkish-red colour, like that of a pig (also called pig pink).
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) […]2019, Bee Smith, Queen Bee's Party:
You gluttonous pig! Now that you've eaten all the cupcakes, there will be none for the party!
When you figure out the maze and get to the middle, that's when you get your free cocoa. It's on a table in two big thermos jugs, and there's cups and a ladle, and the sign says, "One cup per customer, PLEASE!" because some people are pigs.2008, Wally Lamb, The Hour I First Believed, Ch.4, at p.86
The protester shouted, “Don't give in to the pigs!” as he was arrested.
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay1971, Gil Scott-Heron, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”:
4 more examples
“...Sounds too easy,” Marvin was saying. “What about the pigs?” He meant police.1989, Dan Simmons, Carrion Comfort, page 359:
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.1990, Jay Robert Nash, Encyclopedia of World Crime: Volume 1: A-C, page 198:
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 shit, pigs eat shit.” 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.¹¹³2008, Frank Kusch, Battleground Chicago: The Police and the 1968 Democratic National Convention, page 63:
But me, I joined the party to fight the pigs. That′s why I joined. Because my experience with the police was always negative.2011, T. J. English, The Savage City: Race, Murder and a Generation on the Edge, unnumbered page:
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.
11
An oblong block of cast metal (now only iron or lead).
The conveyor carried the pigs from the smelter to the freight cars.
Standing near the side, he had observed Rex and Fair bring up a great pig of iron, erst used as part of the ballast of the brig, and poise it on the rail.1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life, Penguin, published 2009, page 138:
12
The mold in which a block of metal is cast.
The pig was cracked, and molten metal was oozing from the side.
13
A lead container used for radioactive waste.
Taylor also bought a pig—a radiation-shielding container made of thick lead—to stash the most radioactive materials in.2015, Tom Clynes, The Boy Who Played with Fusion, page 36:
Forceps and a lead container (called a pig) that are routinely placed in the room are used to retrieve and contain the source.2015, Adrianne Dill Linton, Introduction to Medical-Surgical Nursing, page 394:
14
Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences 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.