piglet (English)
Where does "piglet" come from?
The English noun 'piglet' is formed from 'pig' combined with the diminutive suffix '-let', and it is attested from 1855[1]. The base word 'pig' descends from Middle English 'pigge', which originally meant a young pig[2]. This Middle English term is inherited from the Old English reconstructed form '*picga', derived from Proto-West Germanic '*piggō'[2][3][4]. Further back, the origin of these Germanic root forms remains uncertain and potentially points to a substrate borrowing or a root connected to swelling[2][5].
Open questions
- The ultimate origin of the Proto-West Germanic root is unknown, with suggestions including a substrate borrowing or a relationship to words meaning to blow or swell. [2] [5]
Full etymology tree
- piglet (English), 'A young pig.'
- compound pig (English), 'Any of several mammalian species of the family Suidae, having cloven hooves, bristles and a snout adapted for digging; especially the domesticated animal Sus domesticus.'
- inherited pigge (Middle English), 'A piglet or young pig.'
- inherited *picga (Old English), 'a young pig; piglet'
- inherited *puggō (Proto-West Germanic), 'piglet'
- inherited *picga (Old English), 'a young pig; piglet'
- inherited pigge (Middle English), 'A piglet or young pig.'
- suffix -let (English), 'A diminutive suffix.'
- compound pig (English), 'Any of several mammalian species of the family Suidae, having cloven hooves, bristles and a snout adapted for digging; especially the domesticated animal Sus domesticus.'
Ancestors
- pig (English)
- -let (English)
Descendants and derived words
- guinea piglet (English)
- moss piglet (English)
- niglet (English)
- niglette (English)
Sources
- piglet (English) - Wiktionary
- pig (English) - Wiktionary
- pigge (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- picga (Old English) - Wiktionary
- puggō (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
Updated September 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris