egg

English Online Dictionary. What means egg‎? What does egg mean?

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: ĕg, IPA^(key): /ɛɡ/
• (some Canadian and US accents) enPR: āg, IPA^(key): /eɪɡ/
• Homophone: Eigg
• Rhymes: -ɛɡ

Etymology 1

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 clothe oneself, dress; to be dressed”) (in the sense of an animal clothed in feathers). Doublet of huevo, oeuf, and ovum.

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.

Noun

egg (countable and uncountable, plural eggs)

1. (countable, zoology)
   1. An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, housing the embryo within a membrane or shell during its development.
      2. (specifically, countable) The edible egg (sense 1.1) of a domestic fowl such as a duck, goose, or, especially, a chicken; (uncountable) the contents of such an egg or eggs used as food.

         Synonyms: (obsolete) ey, (Castilianism) huevo, (humorous, or in French cooking) oeuf
      3. (by extension, countable) A food item shaped to resemble an egg (sense 1.1.1), such as a chocolate egg.
   2. (also cytology) Synonym of ovum (“the female gamete of an animal”); an egg cell.
2. (countable) A thing which looks like or is shaped like an egg (sense 1.1).
   1. A swelling on one's head, usually large or noticeable, resulting from an injury.

      Synonym: (Canada, US, informal) goose egg

   2. (architecture) Chiefly in egg and dart: an ornamental oval moulding alternating in a row with dart or triangular shapes.
   3. (chiefly sports) A score of zero; specifically (cricket), a batter's failure to score; a duck egg or duck's egg.

      Synonyms: (Canada, US, informal) goose egg, (billiards, racquet sports (especially tennis)) love

   4. (military, dated) A bomb or mine.
3. (countable, figuratively)
   1. Senses relating to people.
      1. (informal, dated) A person; a fellow.
      2. (derogatory, ethnic slur, rare) A white person considered to be overly infatuated with East Asia.

         Hypernym: race traitor

         Hyponyms: Koreaboo, wapanese, weeaboo, weeb, wumao

      3. (Internet slang, derogatory, dated) A user of the microblogging service Twitter identified by the default avatar (historically an image of an egg (sense 1.1.1)) rather than a custom image; hence, a newbie or noob.
      5. (transgender slang) A person regarded as having not yet realized they are transgender, who has not yet come out as transgender, or who is in the early stages of transitioning.
         1. (transgender slang, by extension) One's lack of awareness that one is transgender.

      6. (New Zealand, derogatory) A foolish or obnoxious person.

      7. (derogatory, obsolete) A young person.
   2. (archaic) Something regarded as containing a (usually bad) thing at an early stage.
   3. (computing) One of the blocks of data injected into a program's address space for use by certain forms of shellcode, such as "omelettes".

Usage notes

When the word is used in sense 1.1.1 (“edible egg”) without any qualifying word, it refers to a chicken’s egg.

The use as in sense 3.1.4 can be sensitive, as regards people who have yet to openly identify as transgender (and possibly even to consider themselves such).

Alternative forms

• egge (obsolete)

Derived terms

Descendants

• →⇒ German: not the yellow from the egg
• Jamaican Creole: eg
• Sranan Tongo: eksi

Translations

See also

• caviar
• roe

Verb

egg (third-person singular simple present eggs, present participle egging, simple past and past participle egged)

1. (transitive)
   1. To throw (especially rotten) eggs (noun sense 1.1.1) at (someone or something).
   2. To inadvertently or intentionally distort (the circular cross-section of something, such as tube) to an elliptical or oval shape.

   3. (cooking) 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.
2. (intransitive) To collect the eggs (noun sense 1.1) of wild birds.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English eggen (“to urge on; to entice, incite, lure, tempt; to encourage, exhort, stimulate; (reflexive) to bestir (oneself); to challenge, taunt; to enrage, irritate”), from Old Norse eggja (“to incite, egg on”), from egg (“an edge”), from Proto-Germanic *agjō (“a corner; an edge”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”).

Verb

egg (third-person singular simple present eggs, present participle egging, simple past and past participle egged)

2. (transitive, obsolete except in egg on) To encourage, incite, or urge (someone).

   Synonyms: (obsolete) edge, provoke, tempt

Conjugation

Derived terms

• egg on

Translations

References

Further reading

• egg on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• egging on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• (transgender): Morgan Lev Edward Holleb (2019) The A-Z of Gender and Sexuality: From Ace to Ze, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, page 98.

Anagrams

• GGE, Geg, geg

Faroese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɛkː]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse egg, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Noun

egg n (genitive singular egs, plural egg)

1. egg

Declension

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From the Old Norse egg, from Proto-Germanic *agjō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”).

Noun

egg f (genitive singular eggjar, plural eggjar)

1. blade, edge
2. border, edge of a cliff

Declension

German

Pronunciation

Verb

egg

1. singular imperative of eggen
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of eggen

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛkː/
• Rhymes: -ɛkː

Etymology 1

From Old Norse egg, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm. Cognate with Old English ǣġ (obsolete English ey); Swedish ägg; Old High German ei (German Ei).

Noun

egg n (genitive singular eggs, nominative plural egg)

1. (zoology) an egg
2. an oval shaped object
3. the ovum

   Synonym: eggfruma f

Declension

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Old Norse egg, from Proto-Germanic *agjō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”).

Cognates include Old Frisian egg, Old Saxon eggia, Dutch egge; Old English ecg (English edge); Old High German egga (German Ecke); Swedish egg.

The Indo-European root is also the source of Latin aciēs (“edge, sharpness”), Ancient Greek ἀκίς (akís, “point”).

Noun

egg f (genitive singular eggjar, nominative plural eggjar)

1. (weaponry) the sharp edge of a knife, sword, or similar

   Synonym: blað

2. a sharp edge on a mountain

Declension

Derived terms

• fjallsegg
• með oddi og egg/með oddi og eggju

Middle English

Noun

egg

1. Alternative form of eg (“egg”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛɡ/
• Rhymes: -ɛɡ
• Hyphenation: egg

Etymology 1

From Old Norse egg n (“egg”), from Proto-Germanic *ajją (“egg”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (“egg”), likely from *h₂éwis (“bird”), possibly from *h₂ew- (“to enjoy, consume”).

Cognate with English egg (“egg”), Icelandic egg (“egg”), Faroese egg (“egg”), Swedish ägg (“egg”), Danish æg (“egg”).

Noun

egg n (definite singular egget, indefinite plural egg, definite plural egga or eggene)

1. an egg

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Old Norse egg f.

Noun

egg f or m (definite singular egga or eggen, indefinite plural egger, definite plural eggene)

1. (cutting) edge (e.g. of a knife)

Derived terms

• tveegget

References

• “egg” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “egg_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “egg_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eɡː/, /ɛɡː/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse egg n, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm. Akin to English egg.

Noun

egg n (definite singular egget, indefinite plural egg, definite plural egga)

1. an egg

Inflection

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Old Norse egg f, from Proto-Germanic *agjō f (“edge, corner”), and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂eḱ-. Cognates include English edge and German Ecke.

Noun

egg f or m (definite singular eggen or egga, indefinite plural eggar or egger, definite plural eggane or eggene)

1. an edge (the thin cutting side of the blade of an instrument, such as an ax, knife, sword, or scythe)
2. (geology) an arête

Inflection

References

• “egg” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Norse

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm.

Noun

egg n (genitive eggs, plural egg)

1. egg

Declension

Descendants

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *agjō. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”).

Noun

egg f (genitive eggjar, plural eggjar)

2. edge (of a blade)

Declension

Descendants

References

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic‎^[2], Oxford: Clarendon Press

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse egg, from Proto-Germanic *agjō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛɡː/
• Homophone: ägg

Noun

egg c

1. The sharp edge of a cutting tool.

Declension

Related terms

References

• egg in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• egg in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)