pork English · revision 10412

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1290|origins=fro porc|origins=la porcus|origins=ine-pro *porḱos}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pɔːk/ ''(UK)''; /poɹk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English porc, pork, [[bor|fro|porc|t=pig, swine]] and directly from Latin [[m|la|porcus|t=pig, tame swine]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from PIE *porko-, young pig,^(Etymonline) cognate with Middle Irish orc, piglet, and Old Church Slavonic prasę;^(Barnhart 1988) see [[farrow]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==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).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A swine or hog is from about 1400, now historical.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Applied to an uncultured person it is from 1645.^(OED 1989) A ''pork barrel'' was literally a barrel for pork from 1801,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) 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'';^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) pork itself in this sense is from 1862–79.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) ''Porker'' is from 1643, and the ''porkpie hat'' from 1860.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1290 – pig meat.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – a hog.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1643 – porker.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1801 – pork barrel (literal).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1862 – government funds (slang).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1909 – pork barrel (political).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The flesh of a [[pig]] used as food.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(US, informal)'' Government money or favours given by politicians to win support in their districts.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[porkish]]

+ * [[porkless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[porcine]]

+ * [[porker]]

+ * [[porcupine]]

+ * [[porpoise]]

+ * [[farrow]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Pork is also an imitative name for the hoarse croak of a raven (1606).^(OED 1989) In Scots and East Anglian dialect, to pork was to grub or poke about.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}