egg

See also: Egg and EGG

English

Chicken eggs in a nest

An egg being fried as food

An Easter egg made of chocolate and caramel

Pronunciation

• enPR: ĕg, IPA^(key): /ɛɡ/
• (also) enPR: āg, IPA^(key): /eɪɡ/ (some Canadian and US accents)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛɡ

Etymology 1

From Middle English egge, from Old Norse egg (“egg”), from Proto-Germanic *ajją (“egg”) (by Holtzmann's law), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (“egg”). Cognate with Icelandic egg (“egg”), Faroese egg (“egg”), Norwegian egg (“egg”), Swedish ägg (“egg”), Danish æg (“egg”).

The native English ey (plural eyren), akin to Dutch ei (plural eieren) and German Ei (plural Eier) are ultimately from the same Proto-Germanic root, survived into the 16th century before being fully displaced by egg. More at ey. Doublet of ovum.

Alternative forms

• egge (obsolete)

Noun

egg (plural eggs)

1. (zoology, countable) An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, reptiles, insects and other animals, housing the embryo during its development.
2. (countable, uncountable) The egg of a domestic fowl (especially a hen) or its contents, used as food.

   I also determine the minimal amount of egg required to make good mayonnaise.

   We made a big omelette with three eggs.

   The farmer offered me some fresh eggs, but I told him I was allergic to egg.

3. (biology, countable) The female primary cell, the ovum.
   • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 80:

     In the Fall into the division of labor, Levi-Strauss sees the great hunters trading women to create the exogamous bonds of one hunting band with another. The egg is, but the sperm does. The tiny sperm may be furious in its activity, but its highway to the egg is paved by the alkaline trail set down by the Great Mother.

   • 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist‎^[1], volume 101, number 3:

     Many genes with reproductive roles also have antibacterial and immune functions, which indicate that the threat of microbial attack on the sperm or egg may be a major influence on rapid evolution during reproduction.

4. Anything shaped like an egg, such as an Easter egg or a chocolate egg.
5. A swelling on one's head, usually large or noticeable, associated with an injury.
6. (derogatory, ethnic slur, uncommon) A white person considered to be overly infatuated with East Asia.
7. (New Zealand, derogatory) A foolish or obnoxious person.

   Shut up, you egg!

8. (archaic, derogatory) A young person.
   • c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene ii], page 145, column 2:

     What you Egge? / Yong fry of Treachery?

9. (informal) A person, fellow.
   • 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 31:

     ‘Some big, hard-boiled egg meets up with a pretty face, and bingo! He cracks up and melts.’

   • 1980, Stephen King, The Wedding Gig:

     Up close he looked like a pretty tough egg. His hair was bristling up in the back in spite of what smelled like a whole bottle of Wildroot Creme Oil and he had the flat, oddly shiny eyes that some deep-sea fish have.

   good egg; bad egg; tough egg

10. (LGBT, slang) A person who is regarded as having not yet realized they are transgender, has not yet come out, or is in the early stages of transitioning.
    • 2018, Casey Plett, Little Fish, →ISBN, page 24:

      That fits, though, she thought. Wear the same outfit day after day, your brain gets numb to how it looks or feels—Wendy shut the album. No. […] She hated analyzing the whys of [not-out] trans girls. She had always hated it, and she hated how easy it had become; the bottomless hole of egg mode.

11. (computing) One of the blocks of data injected into a program's address space for use by certain forms of shellcode, such as "omelettes".
    • 2015, Herbert Bos, Fabian Monrose, Gregory Blanc, Research in Attacks, Intrusions, and Defenses: 18th International Symposium:

      This approach would be altered for an optimal omelette based exploit. One would spray the heap with the omelette code solely, then load a single copy of the additional shellcode eggs into memory outside the target region for the spray.

12. (Internet slang, derogatory, dated) A user of the microblogging service Twitter who has the default avatar rather than a custom picture (previously an egg); a noob.

Synonyms

• oeuf (humorous)

Hyponyms

• (white overly infatuated with East Asia): weeb, weeaboo, Koreaboo, wapanese, wumao

Hypernyms

• (white overly infatuated with East Asia): race traitor

Derived terms

• an egg's age
• bad egg
• blow eggs
• boiled egg
• coddled egg
• crack someone's egg
• cuckoo's egg
• curate's egg
• don't put all your eggs in one basket
• Easter egg
• egg and spoon race
• egg beater, eggbeater
• eggcorn
• egg cup, eggcup
• egg flip
• egg-nog, eggnog
• egg on one's face
• egg-shell, eggshell
• eggs in moonshine
• egg spoon
• egg tart
• egg-timer, egg timer
• egg white
• egg yolk
• fried egg
• golden egg
• good egg
• goose egg
• go suck an egg
• kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
• lay an egg
• nest egg
• poached egg
• power egg
• scrambled egg, scrambled eggs
• sure as eggs is eggs
• with egg on one's face
• yoni egg

 

Descendants

• Jamaican Creole: eg
• Sranan Tongo: eksi

Translations

See egg/translations § Noun.

Verb

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

1. To throw eggs (the food item) at.

   The angry demonstrators egged the riot police.

2. (cooking) To dip in or coat with beaten egg (the food item).
3. To distort a circular cross-section (as in a tube) to an elliptical or oval shape, either inadvertently or intentionally.

   After I cut the tubing, I found that I had slightly egged it in the vise.

Translations

to throw eggs at

• Finnish: heittää kananmunilla
• French: jeter des oeufs
• Greek: παίρνω με τ' αβγά (paírno me t' avgá)

• Lithuanian: apmėtyti kiaušiniais
• Portuguese: jogar ovos em
• Spanish: lanzar huevos a, tirar huevos a
• Swahili: yai (sw)

to dip in or coat with beaten egg

• Finnish: kastaa kananmunaan, voidella kananmunalla

• Polish: obtaczać w jajku impf, obtoczyć w jajku pf
• Swahili: yai (sw)

See also

• caviar
• roe

Etymology 2

From Middle English eggen, from Old Norse eggja (“to incite”), from egg (“edge”).

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.
   • 14th c., William Langland, Piers Plowman‎^[2], Passus 1:

     Þerinne wonieth a wiȝte · þat wronge is yhote
     Fader of falshed · and founded it hym-selue
     Adam and Eue · he egged to ille
     Conseilled caym · to kullen his brother

     Therein woneth a wight that Wrong is y-hote,
     Father of falsehood — and founded it himself.
     Adam and Eve he egged to ill,
     Counselled Cain to kill his brother

   • 1571, Arthur Golding, “Epistle Dedicatorie”, in The Psalmes of David and others. With M. John Calvins Commentaries‎^[3]:

     […] yit have wee one thing in our selves and of our selves (even originall sinne, concupiscence or lust) which never ceaseth too egge us and allure us from God […]

Derived terms

• egg on
• over-egg

Translations

to encourage

• Bulgarian: подбуждам (bg) (podbuždam), подтиквам (bg) (podtikvam)
• Danish: ægge (da)
• Faroese: eggja
• Finnish: yllyttää (fi)
• German: antreiben (de), anfeuern (de), anstacheln (de)

• Greek: προτρέπω (el) (protrépo)
• Slovak: nabádať
• Spanish: incitar (es), empujar (es)
• Swahili: yai (sw)

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, page 98

Anagrams

• GGE, Geg, geg

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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

n23	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	egg	eggið	egg	eggini
Accusative	egg	eggið	egg	eggini
Dative	eggi	egginum	egg(j)um	egg(j)unum
Genitive	egs	egsins	eggja	eggjanna

Derived terms

• antaregg
• eggjahvíti
• eggjakoppur
• eggjakøka
• eggjareyði
• eggjaskal
• froskaegg
• gásaregg
• harðkókað egg
• høsnaregg
• páskaregg
• sjokulátuegg

 

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

f8	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	egg	eggin	eggjar	eggjarnar
Accusative	egg	eggina	eggjar	eggjarnar
Dative	egg	eggini	eggjum	eggjunum
Genitive	eggjar	eggjarinnar	eggja	eggjanna

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German

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

egg

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

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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

Declension

declension of egg

n-s	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	egg	eggið	egg	eggin
accusative	egg	eggið	egg	eggin
dative	eggi	egginu	eggjum	eggjunum
genitive	eggs	eggsins	eggja	eggjanna

Synonyms

• (ovum): eggfruma f

Derived terms

• arnaregg (“eagle's egg”)
• dúfuegg (“dove's egg”)
• eggjahvíta (“egg white”)
• eggjarauða, eggjablómi (“egg yolk”)
• eggjasalad
• eggjaskurn
• hrafnsegg (“raven's egg”)
• höggormsegg (“snake's egg”)
• kríuegg
• liggja á eggjum (“to brood, sit on eggs”)
• páskaegg
• verpa eggi (“to lay an egg”)
• álptaregg (“swan's egg”)
• æðaregg (“eider duck's egg”)

 

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
2. a sharp edge on a mountain

Declension

declension of egg

f-s1	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	egg	eggin	eggjar	eggjarnar
accusative	egg	eggina	eggjar	eggjarnar
dative	egg	egginni	eggjum	eggjunum
genitive	eggjar	eggjarinnar	eggja	eggjanna

Synonyms

• (sharp edge): blað
• (mountain): fjallsegg

Derived terms

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

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Middle English

Noun

egg

1. Alternative form of egge (“egg”)

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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

• bløtkokt egg
• eggehvite
• eggekvite
• eggeplomme
• eggerøre
• eggformet
• eggløsning
• eggstokk
• enegget
• hardkokt egg
• kokt egg
• påskeegg
• speilegg

 

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).

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eɡː/, /ɛɡː/ (example of pronunciation)

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

Historical inflection of egg indefinite singular definite singular indefinite plural definite plural Aasen1 Egg n Egget Egg Eggi 1901 egget (egge) 1917 egget egga, eggi 1938 egga [eggi] 2012 (current) egg n egget egg egga Forms in italics are currently considered non-standard. Forms in [brackets] were official, but considered second-tier. Forms in (parentheses) were allowed under Midlandsnormalen. 1Nouns were capitalised for most of the 19th century.

Derived terms

• eggekvite
• eggeplomme
• eggerøre
• eggstokk
• påskeegg
• speilegg

 

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

Historical inflection of egg indefinite singular definite singular indefinite plural definite plural Aasen1 Egg f Eggi Eggjar Eggjarna 1901 eggjarne (eggjane) 1917 egga, eggi eggjar, egger eggjane, eggene 1938 egga [eggi] egger eggene 1959 egg m or f eggen, egga [eggi] eggar, egger eggane, eggene 2012 (current) egg m or f eggen, egga eggar, egger eggane, eggene Forms in italics are currently considered non-standard. Forms in [brackets] were official, but considered second-tier. Forms in (parentheses) were allowed under Midlandsnormalen. 1Nouns were capitalised for most of the 19th century.

References

• “egg” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Old Norse

Etymology 1

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

Noun

egg n (genitive eggs, plural egg)

1. egg

Declension

  Declension of egg (strong ja-stem)

neuter	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	egg	eggit	egg	eggin
accusative	egg	eggit	egg	eggin
dative	eggi	egginu	eggjum	eggjunum
genitive	eggs	eggsins	eggja	eggjanna

Descendants

• Icelandic: egg
• Faroese: egg
• Norwegian Bokmål: egg
• Elfdalian: egg
• Westrobothnian: aigg
• Old Swedish: æg
  • Swedish: ägg
• Scanian: ægg
• Danish: æg
• → Middle English: egge
  • English: egg, egge
    • Jamaican Creole: eg
    • Sranan Tongo: eksi
  • Scots: eg, egg

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

  Declension of egg (strong jō-stem)

feminine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	egg	eggin	eggjar	eggjarnar
accusative	egg	eggina	eggjar	eggjarnar
dative	egg, eggju	egginni, eggjunni	eggjum	eggjunum
genitive	eggjar	eggjarinnar	eggja	eggjanna

Descendants

• Icelandic: egg
• Faroese: egg
• Norwegian Nynorsk: egg m or f
• Norwegian Bokmål: egg m or f
• Dalian: egg
• Westrobothnian: aigg
• Old Swedish: eg
  • Swedish: egg
• Danish: æg

References

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic‎^[4], Oxford: Clarendon Press

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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

Declension of egg
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	egg	eggen	eggar	eggarna
Genitive	eggs	eggens	eggars	eggarnas

Related terms

• egga (“to stimulate; to encourage somebody to do a specific action”)
• eggelse
• eggjärn
• eggredskap
• eggskydd
• eggstål
• eggvapen
• eggvass
• eggverktyg
• knivsegg
• yxegg

 

References

• egg in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

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Westrobothnian

Pronunciation

• (Umeå) IPA^(key): [¹ɛɡː]
• (Bygdeå, Burträsk, Lövånger) IPA^(key): [¹ɛɪ̯ɡː]
• (Skellefteå) IPA^(key): [¹æɪ̯ɡː]

  Rhymes: -ɛ́ɡː

Etymology 1

From Old Norse egg, from Proto-Germanic *ajją. Compare with Swedish ägg.

Noun

egg n (definite singular eggj’eð, defininte plural egg’a)

1. Egg.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse egg from Proto-Germanic *agjō.

Pronunciation

• (Umeå) IPA^(key): [¹ɛdʑː] (Generalized palatalization from the definite form)
• (Bygdeå, Burträsk, Lövånger) IPA^(key): [¹ɛɪ̯ɡː]
• (Skellefteå) IPA^(key): [¹æɪ̯ɡː]

  Rhymes: -ɛ́ɡː

Noun

egg n (definite singular eggj’eð, defininte plural egg’a)

1. The sharp edge of a cutting tool.

Derived terms

• eggbrøst

References

• Marklund, Thorsten, 1986, Skelleftemålet: grammatik och ordlista : för lekmän - av lekman [The Skellefteå speech: grammar and vocabulary: for laymen - by a layman], →ISBN, page 72