• Audio(UK):

  (file)

• (Received Pronunciation,General American)enPR:ĕg,IPA^(key):/ɛɡ/

• Audio(US):

  (file)

• (some Canadian and US accents)enPR:āg,IPA^(key):/eɪɡ/
• Homophone:Eigg
• Rhymes:-ɛɡ

Thenoun is derived fromMiddle Englisheg,egg,egge(“egg of a domestic or wild fowl; egg of a snake”)[and other forms](originally Northern England and Northeast Midlands),^[1] fromOld Norseegg(“egg”), fromProto-Germanic*ajją(“egg”) (byHoltzmann’s law), fromProto-Indo-European*h₂ōwyóm(“egg”),^[2] probably from*h₂éwis(“bird”), from*h₂ew-(“to clothe oneself, dress; to be dressed”) (in the sense of an animal clothed in feathers).Doublet ofhuevo,oeuf, andovum.

The nativeEnglishey[and other forms] (pluraleyren)(obsolete),^[3] fromOld Englishǣġ, is also derived fromProto-Germanic*ajją. It survived into at leastc. 16th century before being fully displaced byegg.

Theverb is derived from the noun.^[4]

egg (countable anduncountable,pluraleggs)

1. (countable,zoology)
   1. Anapproximatelyspherical orellipsoidalbodyproduced bybirds,insects,reptiles, and otheranimals,housing theembryo within amembrane orshell during itsdevelopment.
      • 1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar),Myles Coverdale, transl.,Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible),[Cologne or Marburg]:[Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?],→OCLC,Job xxxix:[13–15],folio xi, recto, column 2:

        The Eſtrich (whoſe fethers are fayrer thẽ y^e wynges of the ſparow hauke) whẽ he hath layd hisegges vpon the grounde, he bredeth them in the duſt, and forgetteth them: ſo that they might be troden with feete, or broken with ſomme wilde beaſt.

      • 1599 (first performance),William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act II, scene i],page114, column 1:

        [T]hinke him as a Serpentsegge, / VVhich hatch'd, vvould as his kinde grovv mischieuous; / And kill him in the ſhell.

      • 1657,Samuel Purchas, “Of the Generation of Bees”, inA Theatre of Politicall Flying-Insects. […], London:[…] R. I. for Thomas Parkhurst, […],→OCLC,pages47–48:

        Anegg properly is that, out of a part vvhereof a living creature is produced, and the reſidue is meat for it, improperly that is anegg out of the vvhole vvhereof, a living creature is bred, as theeggs of Spiders, Ants, Flies.

      • 1791,Oliver Goldsmith, “Of Quadrupeds in General, Compared to Man”, inAn History of the Earth, and Animated Nature. […], new edition, volume II, London:[…] F[rancis] Wingrave, successor to Mr.[John] Nourse, […],→OCLC,pages311–312:

        [T]here is one claſs of quadrupeds that ſeems entirely left to chance,[…] Theſe are the quadrupeds that are brought forth from theegg, ſuch as the lizard, the tortoiſe, and the crocodile.[…] [T]he numerous brood ofeggs are, vvithout farther ſolicitude, buried in the vvarm ſands of the ſhore, and the heat of the ſun alone is left to bring them to perfection.

      • 1847,William Harvey, “Anatomical Exercises on the Generation of Animals; to which are Added, Essays on Parturition; on the Membranes, and Fluids of the Uterus; and on Conception.[On Animal Generation. Exercise the Twenty-third: Of the Exclusion of the Chick, or the Birth from the Egg.]”, inRobert Willis, transl.,The Works of William Harvey, M.D., London:[…] Sydenham Society,→OCLC,page264:

        Theegg is, as we have said, a kind of exposed uterus, and place in which the embryo is fashioned: for it performs the office of the uterus and enfolds the chick until the due time of its exclusion arrive, when the creature is born perfect.

        A translation of a passage from Harvey’sExercitationes de generatione animalium (1651).

      2. (specifically,countable) Theedible egg(sense 1.1) of adomesticfowl such as aduck,goose, or, especially, achicken;(uncountable) thecontents of such an egg or eggsused asfood.

         Synonyms:(obsolete)ey,(Castilianism)huevo,(humorous, or in French cooking)oeuf

         We made a big omelette with threeeggs.(countable)

         I should determine the minimal amount ofegg required to make good mayonnaise.(uncountable)

         The farmer offered me some fresheggs, but I told him I was allergic toegg.(countable, uncountable)

         • 1566,Apuleius, “The Eleventh Booke”, inWilliam Adlington, transl.,The Golden Ass of Apuleius Translated out of Latin […], London:David Nutt […], published1893,→OCLC,page239:

           There after the images and reliques were orderly disposed, the great Priest compassed about with divers pictures according to the fashion of the Ægyptians, did dedicate and consecrate with certaine prayers a fair ship made very cunningly, and purified the same with a torch, anegge, and sulphur;[…]

         • c.1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare],The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London:[…]P[eter] S[hort] forAndrew Wise, […], published1598,→OCLC,[Act II, scene i]:

           [T]hey are vp already, and cal forEgges and butter, they vvil avvay preſently.

         • 1665–1667,John Lauder; Lord Fountainhall, “Journal in France 1665–1667”, inDonald Crawford, editor,Journals of Sir John Lauder, Lord Fountainhall, with His Observations on Public Affairs and Other Memoranda 1665–1676 […] (Publications of the Scottish History Society; XXXVI), Edinburgh:[…]University Press byT[homas] and A[rchibald] Constable for theScottish History Society, publishedMay 1900,→OCLC,page52:

           I was 5 moneth in France before I saw a boyled or roastedegge.

         • 1732,John Arbuthnot, “Practical Rules of Diet in the Various Constitutions and Diseases of Human Bodies. Chapter I. Of the Different Qualities and Effects of Alimentary Substances. 4. Anti-acid, or Contrary to Acidity or Sourness.”, inAn Essay Concerning the Nature of Aliments, and the Choice of Them, According to the Different Constitutions of Human Bodies. […], 2nd edition, London:[…]J[acob] Tonson […],→OCLC,page255:

           Eggs are perhaps the higheſt, moſt nouriſhing and exalted of all animal Food, and moſt indigeſtible, becauſe no body can take and digeſt the ſame Quantity of them as of other Food.

         • 1851 June –1852 April,Harriet Beecher Stowe, “An Evening in Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, inUncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly, volume I, Boston, Mass.:John P[unchard] Jewett & Company; Cleveland, Oh.: Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, published20 March 1852,→OCLC,page39:

           A round, black, shining face is hers, so glossy as to suggest the idea that she might have washed over with white ofeggs, like one of her own tea rusks.

      3. (by extension,countable) A fooditemshaped toresemble an egg(sense 1.1.1), such as achocolate egg.
   2. (alsocytology)Synonym ofovum(“thefemalegamete of an animal”); anegg cell.
      • 1981,William Irwin Thompson, “Hominization”, inThe Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture (A Lindisfarne Series Book), New York, N.Y.:St. Martin’s Press,→ISBN, part 2 (The Transformations of Prehistory),page80:

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

      • 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, inAmerican Scientist‎^[1], volume101, number 3, New Haven, Conn.:Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society,→DOI,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe original on22 April 2013, abstract, page210:

        Although they serve the same function across the plant, animal and fungal kingdoms, sperm andeggs vary wildly in their structure and biochemistry, even among closely related species.[…] Many genes that determine sperm andegg structure and biochemistry are rapidly evolving, constantly changing the chemical environment necessary for the sperm to bind to theegg.

2. (countable) Athing whichlooks like or is shaped like an egg(sense 1.1).
   • 1621 August 13 (first performance; Gregorian calendar),Ben Jonson, “The Masque of the Gypsies”, inQ. Horatius Flaccus: HisArt of Poetry. […], London:[…] J[ohn] Okes, forJohn Benson […], published1640,→OCLC,page84:

     His ſtomacke vvas queaſie (for comming there Coacht) / The jogging had caus’d ſome crudities riſe; / To help it he call’d for a Puritan poacht, / That uſed to turne up theegg’s of his eyes.

     Referring to the whites of the eyes.

   • 1659 December 30 (date written),Robert Boyle, “[Experiment 20]”, inNew Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects, (Made, for the Most Part, in a New Pneumatical Engine) […], Oxford, Oxfordshire:[…] H[enry] Hall, printer to theUniversity, for Tho[mas] Robinson, published1660,→OCLC,page144:

     There vvas taken a great Glaſs-bubble, vvith a long neck; (ſuch as Chymiſts are vvont to call a PhiloſophicalEgg) vvhich being fill'd vvith common VVater till the Liquor reach'd about a ſpan above the bubble, and a piece of Paper being there paſted on, vvas put unſtop'd into the Receiver,[…]

   1. Aswelling on one'shead, usuallylarge ornoticeable,resulting from aninjury.

      Synonym:(Canada, US, informal)goose egg

   2. (architecture)Chiefly inegg and dart: anornamentalovalmouldingalternating in arow withdart ortriangularshapes.
   3. (chieflysports) Ascore ofzero; specifically(cricket), abatter'sfailure toscore; aduck egg orduck's egg.

      Synonyms:(Canada, US, informal)goose egg,(billiards, racquet sports (especially tennis))love

   4. (military,dated) Abomb ormine.
3. (countable,figuratively)
   1. Senses relating topeople.
      1. (informal,dated) A person; afellow.

         abadegg    agoodegg    a toughegg    Cheerio, oldegg!

         • 1903,Rudyard Kipling, “‘Their Lawful Occasions’—Part II”, inTraffics and Discoveries, London:Macmillan and Co., published1904,→OCLC,page138:

           'Goodegg!' quoth Moorshed, and brought his hand down on the wide shoulders with the smack of a beaver's tail.

         • 1910 February, John Galsworthy,Justice: A Tragedy in Four Acts, London:Duckworth and Co. […], published March 1910,→OCLC, Act I,page15:

           Walter. The woman we passed as we came in just now. Is it his wife? /Cokeson. No, no relation. [Restraining what in jollier circumstances would have been a wink] A married person, though.[…]James. A real badegg.

         • 1915 September 3,Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, chapter XI, inSomething New, New York, N.Y.:D[aniel] Appleton and Company,→OCLC,page326:

           "She isn't going to sue me for breach of promise?" / "She never had any intention of doing so." / The Honorable Freddie sank back on the pillows. / "Goodegg!" he said with fervor. He beamed happily. "This," he observed, "is a bit of all right."

         • 1920,John Galsworthy, “On Forsyte ’Change”, inIn Chancery (The Forsyte Saga; 2), London:William Heinemann,→OCLC, part I,page100:

           They tell me at Timothy's[…] that Dartie has gone off at last. That'll be a relief to your father. He was a rottenegg.

         • 1932,Edgar Wallace,Merian C[aldwell] Cooper, novelization byDelos W[heeler] Lovelace, chapter 4, inKing Kong, trade softcover edition, Nevada City, Calif.: Underwood Books, published2005,→ISBN,page29:

           Some big, hard-boiledegg meets up with a pretty face, and bingo! He cracks up and melts.

         • 1937 July 24 – September 11,P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter I, inSummer Moonshine, 1st UK edition, London:Herbert Jenkins […], published1938,→OCLC,page18:

           "She's a toughegg." / "She must be, if she slung your brother Joe out."

         • 1980, Stephen King, “The Wedding Gig”, inSkeleton Crew (A Signet Book), New York, N.Y.:New American Library, publishedJune 1986,→ISBN,page259:

           Up close he looked like a pretty toughegg. 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.

      2. (derogatory,ethnicslur,rare) Awhite personconsidered to beoverlyinfatuated withEast Asia.

         Hypernym:race traitor

         Hyponyms:Koreaboo,wapanese,weeaboo,weeb,wumao

      3. (Internetslang,derogatory,dated) Auser of themicrobloggingserviceTwitteridentified by thedefaultavatar (historically animage of an egg(sense 1.1.1)) rather than acustom image; hence, anewbie ornoob.
      5. (transgenderslang) A person regarded as having not yetrealized they aretransgender, who has not yetcome out as transgender, or who is in theearlystages oftransitioning.
         • 2018,Casey Plett, edited by Susan Safyan,Little Fish, Vancouver, B.C.:Arsenal Pulp Press,→ISBN, page24:

           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 ofegg mode.

         • 2020, Grace Lavery, “Egg Theory's Early Style”, inTransgender Studies Quarterly, page384:

           So I remember being told, in the very early part of my transition, that I had been, until now, anegg, and—as powerfully rooted in a belief in latency as I found myself[.]

         1. (transgenderslang, by extension) One'slack ofawareness that one istransgender.

            tocrack someone'segg(to cause someone to realize that they are transgender)

      6. (New Zealand,derogatory) Afoolish orobnoxious person.

         Shut up, youegg!

      7. (derogatory,obsolete) Ayoung person.
         • c.1606 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act IV, scene ii],page145, column 2:

           VVhat youEgge? / Yong fry of Treachery?

   2. (archaic) Something regarded ascontaining a (usuallybad) thing at an early stage.
      • a.1658 (date written), George Daniel, “Trinarchodia. The Raigne ofHenry the Fourth.”, inAlexander B[alloch] Grosart, editor,The Poems of George Daniel, Esq. of Beswick, Yorkshire. (1616–1657) from the Original MSS. in the British Museum: Hitherto Unprinted. […], volume IV, Boston, Lincolnshire:[…][Robert Roberts] for private circulation only, published1878,→OCLC, stanza 348,page88:

        [S]oe Power of Warre / From the firſtEgge of Libertie, out-Creepes / A fatall Serpent;[…]

      • 1683 June 5 (Gregorian calendar),Roger L’Estrange, “The State of the City of London, in the Late Rebellion. […]”, inThe Observator, in Dialogue, volume I, number345, London:[…] J. Bennet, for William Abington, […],→OCLC,page[1], column 1:

        In ſhort, theRebellion had beenCruſh'd in theEgg; and One SeaſonableAct ofRigour, hadSav'd the King, the Monarchy, the Church, and the Three Kingdoms.

   3. (computing) One of theblocks ofdatainjected into aprogram'saddress space foruse by certainforms ofshellcode, such as "omelettes".
      • 2015, Charles Smutz, Angelos Stavrou, “Preventing Exploits in Microsoft Office Documents through Content Randomization”, in Herbert Bos, Fabian Monrose, Gregory Blanc, editors,Research in Attacks, Intrusions, and Defenses: 18th International Symposium, RAID 2015, Kyoto, Japan, November 2–4, 2015: Proceedings (LNCS; 9404; Sublibrary SL4 (Security and Cryptology)), Cham, Switzerland, Heidelberg, Baden-Württemburg:Springer International Publishing,→DOI,→ISBN,→ISSN,page241:

        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 shellcodeeggs into memory outside the target region for the spray.

• When the word is used insense 1.1.1 (“edible egg”) without any qualifying word, it refers to a chicken’s egg.

• The use as insense 3.1.4 can be sensitive, as regards people who have yet to openly identify as transgender (and possibly even to consider themselves such).

• egge(obsolete)

• →⇒ German:not the yellow from the egg
• Jamaican Creole:eg
• Sranan Tongo:eksi

• caviar
• roe

egg (third-person singular simple presenteggs,present participleegging,simple past and past participleegged)

1. (transitive)
   1. Tothrow (especiallyrotten)eggs (noun sense 1.1.1) at (someone or something).

      The angry demonstratorsegged the riot police.

      The students were caughtegging the principal’s car as a prank.

      • 2013 February, M. Golding, “Framing”, inHow to Piss Off a Crappy Roommate: From A to Z,[Morrisville, N.C.]:Lulu,→ISBN,page89:

        Like I said before in that chapter, after that ultimate egging, Gay-D didn't mention anything about eggs again, but he meekly ask for us to stopegging Xander's door so that he wouldn't get blamed.

   2. Toinadvertently orintentionallydistort (thecircularcross-section of something, such astube) to anelliptical orovalshape.

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

   3. (cooking) Tocoat (afoodingredient) with ordip (a food ingredient) inbeaten egg (noun sense 1.1.1) during theprocess ofpreparing adish.
      • [1833, [Frederick Marryat], chapter I, inPeter Simple. […], volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], published1834,→OCLC,page 8:

        "Jemima, Jemima!—ve'll ha'e thevitingbiled instead of fried." "Ca'n't, marm," replied Jemima, "they be allhegged and crumbed, with their tails in their mouths."]

      • 1834,M[arie-]A[ntoine] Carême, edited by John Porter,The Royal Parisian Pastrycook and Confectioner: […], London: F. J. Mason, […],→OCLC,page163:

        Then mask another large piece with currant jelly, cover it as before, and afteregging the edges, roll them over some coarse sugar, and put them immediately in the oven. Join the remaining pieces in the same manner, two and two, and afteregging the edges as before, roll them alternately onpistachios and coarse sugar.

2. (intransitive)
   1. Tocollect the eggs(noun sense 1.1) ofwildbirds.
   2. (England,vulgar,dialectal) Toconceive a child, especially recklessly.

      I was out with my girlfriend in Birmingham, when some colorful local told us not toegg.

FromMiddle Englisheggen(“to urge on; to entice, incite, lure, tempt; to encourage, exhort, stimulate; (reflexive) to bestir (oneself); to challenge, taunt; to enrage, irritate”),^[5] fromOld Norseeggja(“to incite, egg on”),^[6] fromegg(“an edge”), fromProto-Germanic*agjō(“a corner; an edge”), ultimately fromProto-Indo-European*h₂eḱ-(“sharp”).

Compare typologically another cognate:Russianпоощря́ть(pooščrjátʹ), akin toRussianо́стрый(óstryj), ultimately from the same PIE root.

Also compare typologically noncognate: Bulgarianпотиквам(potikvam), Czechnabádat(“urge,exhort”), Russianподстрека́ть(podstrekátʹ).

egg (third-person singular simple presenteggs,present participleegging,simple past and past participleegged)

2. (transitive,obsolete except inegg on) Toencourage,incite, orurge (someone).

   Synonyms:(obsolete)edge,provoke,tempt

   • 1571,Arthur Golding, “To the Right Honorable and His Verie Good LordEdward de Vere Erle of Oxinford, […]”, inJohn Calvin, translated by Arthur Golding,The Psalmes of Dauid and Others. With M.Iohn Caluin’s Commentaries, London:[…]Thomas East and Henry Middelton; for Lucas Harison, and G[e]orge Byshop,→OCLC, 1st part,folio iiij, recto:

     [Y]it haue vvee one thing in our ſelues and of our ſelues, (euen originall ſinne, concupiſcence or luſt) vvhich neuer ceaſeth tooegge vs and allure vs from God, and too ſtaine vs vvith all kinde of vnclennes:[…]

   • 1603,Matthew Kellison, “The First Chapter Sheweth How the Reformers Take Away Hope of Heauen and Feare of Hell, and Consequently Open the Gapp to All Vice”, inA Survey of the New Religion, Detecting Manie Grosse Absurdities which it Implieth. […], Douai:[…] Lawrence Kellam, […],→OCLC, 7th book (Conteineth a Suruey of the New Doctrine Concerning Manners, […]),page510:

     Hope like a ſpurre pricketh forvvard, feare like a bridle reſtraineth, hopeeggeth onvvard vnto vertue, feare pulleth backe from vice, hope incites vs to obſerue the lavv, feare makes vs feare to trãſgreſſe the lavve.

   • 1610 October,John Foxe,Actes and Monuments of Matters Most Speciall and Memorable, Happening in the Church, with an Vniuersall Historie of the Same. […], 6th edition, volume I, London:[…][Humphrey Lownes] for theCompany of Stationers,→OCLC, book IV,page299, column 1:

     Thus time paſſing on, within a yeere following, which was in the yeere of our Lord 1261. the king [Henry III of England] ſeeing himſelfe more and more to grow in debt, and not to bee relieued according to promiſe made, but eſpecially beingegged (as may be thought) by his brethren taking it to ſtomach, ſent vp to the pope, both for him and his ſonneEdward to bee releaſed of theiroth made before at Oxford.

   • 1633, Levine Lemnie [i.e.,Levinus Lemnius], “Of the Spirit Universall Generally Inspired into the Whole World, and All the Parts thereof. […]”, in T[homas] N[ewton], transl.,The Touchstone of Complexions. […], London:[…]E[lizabeth] A[llde] for Michael Sparke, […],→OCLC,pages34–35:

     And of them they make tvvo ſorts, the good Angels, and the bad: becauſe the good pricketh a man forvvard, to grace, goodneſſe, vertue, and honeſty: the othereggeth him to levvdneſſe, miſchiefe, ſhame, villany, and all kinde of looſe diſhoneſty.

   • 1758, Maphaeus [i.e.,Maffeo Vegio], translated by [John Ellis],The Canto Added by Maphæus toVirgil’s Twelve Books ofÆneas, from the Original Bombastic, Done into English Hudibrastic; With Notes beneath, and Latin Text in Ev’ry Other Page Annext, London:[…]R[obert] andJ[ames] Dodsley […],→OCLC,page35, lines227–230:

     O harpy Love-rule, murd'rous Hag; / Whither doſt thou blind Mortals drag! / 'Tis thou to Battleeggeſt Kings / As well as Louts to Wreſtling-rings;[…]

   • 1877,William Morris, “Regin Telleth Sigurd of His Kindred, and of the Gold that was Accursed from Ancient Days”, inThe Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs, London: Ellis and White, […],→OCLC, book II (Regin),page93:

     Nought such do I look to be. / But thou, a deedless man, too much thoueggest me:[…]

   • 1883, “Bersaoglis Vísor, c. 1039. (From the Lives of Kings, especially Kringla, Hulda, Flatey-bok iii. 267–269.)”, inGudbrand Vigfusson,F[rederick] York Powell, editors,Corpvs Poeticvm Boreale: The Poetry of the Old Northern Tongue: From the Earliest Times to the Thirteenth Century […], volume II (Court Poetry), Oxford, Oxfordshire:Clarendon Press,→OCLC, book VIII (Christian Court Poetry), § 2 (St. Olaf andCnut),page147:

     Who isegging thee, king, to go back from the oath thou hast sworn? A worthy king of men should be true to his word. It can never beseem thee, my lord, to break thine oath. Who isegging thee, prince, to slaughter the cattle of thy thanes? It is tyranny for a king to do such deed in his own land.

• egg on

•  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, London:Jessica Kingsley Publishers,→ISBN, page98.

• GGE,Geg,geg

• IPA^(key):[ɛkː]

FromOld Norseegg, fromProto-Germanic*ajją, fromProto-Indo-European*h₂ōwyóm.

egg n (genitive singularegs, pluralegg)

1. egg

From theOld Norseegg, fromProto-Germanic*agjō, fromProto-Indo-European*h₂eḱ-(“sharp, pointed”).

egg f (genitive singulareggjar, pluraleggjar)

1. blade,edge
2. border, edge of a cliff

• Audio:

  (file)

egg

1. singularimperative ofeggen
2. (colloquial) first-personsingularpresent ofeggen

• IPA^(key):/ˈɛkː/
• Rhymes:-ɛkː

FromOld Norseegg, fromProto-Germanic*ajją, fromProto-Indo-European*h₂ōwyóm. Cognate withOld Englishǣġ (obsolete Englishey); Swedishägg;Old High Germanei (GermanEi).

egg n (genitive singulareggs,nominative pluralegg)

1. (zoology) anegg
2. anoval shaped object
3. theovum

   Synonym:eggfruma f

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989)Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies,→ISBN(Available atMálið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
• Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “egg”, inBeygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
• Mörður Árnason (2019)Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið
• “egg” in theDictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) andISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

Inherited fromOld Norseegg, fromProto-Germanic*agjō, fromProto-Indo-European*h₂eḱ-(“sharp, pointed”).

Cognates includeOld Frisianegg,Old Saxoneggia,Dutchegge;Old Englishecg (Englishedge);Old High Germanegga (GermanEcke);Swedishegg.

The Indo-European root is also the source ofLatinaciēs(“edge, sharpness”),Ancient Greekἀκίς(akís,“point”).

egg f (genitive singulareggjar,nominative pluraleggjar)

1. (weaponry) the sharpedge of aknife,sword, or similar

   Synonym:blað

   meðoddiogeggju ―with all one's might (literally, “with point andedge”)

2. (geography)ridge(a sharp edge on amountain)

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

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989)Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies,→ISBN(Available atMálið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
• Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “egg”, inBeygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
• Mörður Árnason (2019)Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið
• “egg” in theDictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) andISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

egg

1. Alternative form ofeg(“egg”)

• IPA^(key):/ɛɡ/
• Rhymes:-ɛɡ
• Hyphenation:egg

FromOld Norseegg n(“egg”), fromProto-Germanic*ajją(“egg”), fromProto-Indo-European*h₂ōwyóm(“egg”), likely from*h₂éwis(“bird”), possibly from*h₂ew-(“to enjoy, consume”).

Cognate withEnglishegg(“egg”),Icelandicegg(“egg”),Faroeseegg(“egg”),Swedishägg(“egg”),Danishæg(“egg”).

egg n (definite singularegget,indefinite pluralegg,definite pluraleggaoreggene)

1. anegg

FromOld Norseegg f.

egg f orm (definite singulareggaoreggen,indefinite pluralegger,definite pluraleggene)

1. (cutting)edge(e.g. of a knife)

• tveegget

• “egg” inThe Bokmål Dictionary.
• “egg_1” inDet Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “egg_2” inDet Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

• IPA^(key):/eɡː/,/ɛɡː/

FromOld Norseegg n, fromProto-Germanic*ajją, fromProto-Indo-European*h₂ōwyóm. Akin toEnglishegg.

egg n (definite singularegget,indefinite pluralegg,definite pluralegga)

1. anegg

FromOld Norseegg f, fromProto-Germanic*agjō f(“edge, corner”), and ultimately from theProto-Indo-European root*h₂eḱ-. Cognates includeEnglishedge andGermanEcke.

egg f orm (definite singulareggenoregga,indefinite pluraleggaroregger,definite pluralegganeoreggene)

1. anedge(the thin cutting side of the blade of an instrument, such as an ax, knife, sword, or scythe)
2. (geology) anarête

• “egg” inThe Nynorsk Dictionary.

FromProto-Germanic*ajją, fromProto-Indo-European*h₂ōwyóm.

egg n (genitiveeggs,pluralegg)

1. egg

FromProto-Germanic*agjō. Ultimately fromProto-Indo-European*h₂eḱ-(“sharp”).

egg f (genitiveeggjar,pluraleggjar)

2. edge(of a blade)

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “egg”, inA Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at theInternet Archive

FromOld Norseegg, fromProto-Germanic*agjō, fromProto-Indo-European*h₂eḱ-(“sharp, pointed”).

• IPA^(key):/ɛɡː/
• Homophone:ägg

egg c

1. The sharpedge of a cutting tool.

• egg inSvensk ordbok (SO)
• egg inSvenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)