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pork

Etymology and origin of the English word pork

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1290
Borrowed from
Old French porc via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*porḱos)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pɔːk/ (UK); /poɹk/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English porc, pork, borrowed from Old French porc (“pig, swine”) and directly from Latin porcus (“pig, tame swine”),[2][3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *porko-, young pig,[3] cognate with Middle Irish orc, piglet, and Old Church Slavonic prasę;[2] see farrow.[2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The flesh of a pig as food: about 1290 in the OED, about 1300 in Barnhart and Etymonline; earlier in the surname Porkuiller (1215).[6][2][3]

Semantic evolution

A swine or hog is from about 1400, now historical.[6][3] Applied to an uncultured person it is from 1645.[6] A pork barrel was literally a barrel for pork from 1801,[3][2] and as a source of supply, government funds handed out for political advantage, from 1909, when President Taft said a waterway bill would be the pork barrel itself;[3][2] pork itself in this sense is from 1862–79.[6][2] Porker is from 1643, and the porkpie hat from 1860.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1290 – pig meat.[6]
  • c. 1400 – a hog.[6]
  • 1643 – porker.[2]
  • 1801 – pork barrel (literal).[3]
  • 1862 – government funds (slang).[6]
  • 1909 – pork barrel (political).[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The flesh of a pig used as food.
  2. (US, informal) Government money or favours given by politicians to win support in their districts.

Word family

  • porkish
  • porkless

Usage notes

Pork is also an imitative name for the hoarse croak of a raven (1606).[6] In Scots and East Anglian dialect, to pork was to grub or poke about.[7]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Pork.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/pork. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·