See also: χοίρος

Ancient Greek

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Etymology

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Traditionally derived from Proto-Hellenic *kʰóřřos, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰóryos (pig) (whence Albanian derr (id)), from *ǵʰer- (to be excited, bristly) +‎ *-yos (owing to the bristliness of wild pigs), whence *ǵʰḗr (hedgehog). But in view of the limited distribution, Beekes suspects a Pre-Greek substrate origin for the Greek and Albanian terms.[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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χοῖρος (khoîrosm (genitive χοίρου); second declension

  1. a pig, especially a young one.
    • 446 BCE – 386 BCE, Aristophanes, The Archarnians 521:
      Κεἴ που σίκυον ἴδοιεν ἢ λαγῴδιον
      χοιρίδιον ἢ σκόροδον ἢ χόνδρους ἅλας,
      ταῦτ’ ἦν “Μεγαρικὰ” κἀπέπρατ’ αὐθημερόν.
      Keí pou síkuon ídoien ḕ lagṓidion
      khoirídion ḕ skórodon ḕ khóndrous hálas,
      taût’ ên “Megarikà” kapéprat’ authēmerón.
      And if they see a cucumber or a young hare
      or a piglet or a clove of garlic or a granule of salt,
      They would shout "Megarian!" and take it all away.
  2. (generally) swine
  3. (slang, vulgar) female genitalia, especially those belonging to a young woman
    • 446 BCE – 386 BCE, Aristophanes, The Archarnians 782–783:
      Νῦν γε χοῖρος φαίνεται.
      ἀτὰρ ἐκτραφείς γε κύσθος ἔσται.
      Nûn ge khoîros phaínetai.
      atàr ektrapheís ge kústhos éstai.
      Now it looks like a pussy.
      But once it's been reared, it'll be a cunt.
  4. a fish of the Nile

Usage notes

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  • For the semantic shift of “pig” to “female genitalia”, compare the same Latin use of porcus.

Inflection

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Greek: χοίρος (choíros)

References

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  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “χοῖρος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume II, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 1640–1641

Further reading

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