Definition: Egg

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English eg, egg, egge (egg of a domestic or wild fowl; egg of a snake, originally Northern England and Northeast Midlands), from Old Norse egg (egg), from Proto-Germanic *ajją (egg), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (egg), probably from *h₂éwis (bird), from *h₂ew- (to clothe oneself, dress; to be dressed, in the sense of an animal clothed in feathers). Doublet of huevo, oeuf and ovum.

The native English ey (plural eyren) (obsolete) from Old English ǣġ, is also derived from Proto-Germanic *ajją. It survived into at least the sixteenth century before being fully displaced by egg.

The verb is derived from the noun

Noun

egg (countable and uncountable, plural eggs)

1. (zoology)
   1. An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, housing the embryo within a membrane or shell during its development.
      1. The edible egg (sense 1.1) of a domestic fowl such as a duck, goose, or, especially, a chicken; the contents of such an egg or eggs used as food.

         We made a big omelette with three eggs.

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

      2. A food item shaped to resemble an egg (sense 1.1.1), such as a chocolate egg.
   2. (also cytology) Synonym of ovum (the female gamete of an animal); an egg cell.
2. A thing which looks like or is shaped like an egg (sense 1.1).
   1. A swelling on one's head, usually large or noticeable, resulting from an injury.
   2. (architecture) Chiefly in egg and dart: an ornamental oval moulding alternating in a row with dart or triangular shapes.
   3. (chiefly sports) A score of zero; specifically (cricket), a batter's failure to score; a duck egg or duck's egg.
3. (computing) One of the blocks of data injected into a program's address space for use by certain forms of shellcode, such as "omelettes".

Usage notes

When the word is used in sense 1.1.1 (edible egg) without any qualifying word, it refers to a chicken’s egg.

Derived terms

• boiled egg
• century egg
• chicken-and-egg problem
• deviled egg
• duck egg
• Easter egg
• egg and dart
• egg and spoon race
• eggbeater
• egg bread
• egg carton
• egg cell
• egg cutter
• egg drop soup
• egg foo young
• eggnog
• egg noodle
• eggplant
• egg roll
• egg sac
• eggshell
• egg timer
• egg tooth
• egg white
• egg yolk
• scrambled eggs

Verb

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

1. To throw (especially rotten) eggs (noun sense 1.1.1) at someone or something.

   The angry demonstrators egged the riot police.

2. To inadvertently or intentionally distort (the circular cross-section of something, such as tube) to an elliptical or oval shape.

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

3. (cooking) To coat (a food ingredient) with or dip (a food ingredient) in beaten egg (noun sense 1.1.1) during the process of preparing a dish.
4. (intransitive) To collect the eggs (noun sense 1.1) of wild birds.

Credits

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