piglet

Etymology

It is formed from English pig + -let,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} the diminutive suffix that came through Old French -elet.^[3] Pig is from Middle English pigge (“a young pig”), probably from an Old English form found only in compounds; its further origin is unknown.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A young pig: 1839, in the Metropolitan magazine, according to the revised OED.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the word to 1859,^[5] and Etymonline and Dictionary.com to the early 1880s.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

The word filled a gap left as pig itself widened its sense: in Middle English pigge meant a young pig, but by the early 14th century it was used of swine of any age.^[3] An earlier word for the young animal was pigling, recorded from 1612,^[2] and Etymonline names farrow as the older term.^[3]

Timeline

• 1839 – a young pig.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged gives 1859, and Etymonline 1883.^[5][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A young pig, or a small one: The sow lay in the straw with six piglets.^[8][4][5][2]

Related words

• pig
• pigling

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins