Hog

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /hÉ’É¡/
• US IPA: /hÉ‘É¡/, /hɔːɡ/
• Rhymes: -É’É¡

Alternative forms

• (UK, dialectical) 'og

Origin

From Middle English, from Old English hogg, hocg ("hog"), possibly from Old Norse hǫggva ("to strike, chop, cut"), from Proto-Germanic *hawwaną ("to hew, forge"), from Proto-Indo-European *kowə- ("to beat, hew, forge"). Cognate with Old High German houwan, Old Saxon hauwan, Old English hēawan (English hew). "Hog" originally meant a castrated male pig. (Compare "hoggett" for a castrated male sheep.) More at hew.

Full definition of hog

Noun

1. Any animal belonging to the Suidae family of mammals, especially the pig, the warthog, and the boar.
2. A greedy person; one who refuses to share.
3. (slang) A large motorcycle, particularly a Harley Davidson.
4. (UK) A young sheep that has not been shorn.
5. (nautical) A rough, flat scrubbing broom for scrubbing a ship's bottom under water.
6. A device for mixing and stirring the pulp from which paper is made.
7. (UK, historical, archaic slang, countable & uncountable) A shilling coin; its value, 12 pence.
• 1933, George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London, xxix‘’Ere y’are, the best rig-out you ever ’ad. A tosheroon a crown for the coat, two ’ogs for the trousers, one and a tanner for the boots, and a ’og for the cap and scarf. That’s seven bob.’
• 1961, Eric Partridge, The Routledge Dictionary of Historical Slanghog (pl hog). A shilling: orig. (ca 1670), c.; in C.19–20, low s.
8. (UK, historical, obsolete slang, countable & uncountable) A tanner, a sixpence coin; its value.
• 1961, Eric Partridge, The Routledge Dictionary of Historical Slanghog (pl hog)... 2. In C.18–early 19, occ. a sixpence: also c., whence the U.S. sense. Prob. ex the figure of a hog on a small silver coin.
9. (UK, historical, obsolete slang, countable & uncountable) A half-crown coin; its value, 30 pence.
• 1961, Eric Partridge, The Routledge Dictionary of Historical Slanghog (pl hog)... 3. A half-crown: ca 1860–1910.

Hyponyms

• (shilling coins) white hog, black hog

Derived terms

Verb

1. (transitive) To greedily take more than one's share, to take precedence at the expense of another or others.Hey! Quit hogging all the blankets.2000 DiCamillo, Kate Because of Winn-Dixie, Scholastic Inc., New York, Ch 15:The ... air-conditioning unit didn't work very good, and there was only one fan; and from the minute me and Winn-Dixie got in the library, he hogged it all.
2. (transitive) To clip the mane of a horse, making it short and bristly.
3. (nautical) To scrub with a hog, or scrubbing broom.
4. (transitive, nautical) To cause the keel of a ship to arch upwards (the opposite of sag).

Anagrams

• OHG, OHG.