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egg

n. · v.
US //ˈɛɡ// UK //ˈɛɡ// egg
  1. 1 food or animal product (n.)
    A1 Beginner Cooking

    a round or oval object produced by a bird, especially a chicken, used as food.

    the hard-shelled reproductive body produced by birds, particularly the domestic chicken, used as a dietary staple.

    Example

    She fried two eggs and served them with toast for breakfast.

    Example

    The recipe requires three large eggs at room temperature to ensure the cake batter emulsifies correctly.

  2. 2 biology (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Science

    the female cell that can join with a male cell to create a baby or young animal.

    the female gamete or ovum of an animal, which can be fertilised by a male gamete to form a zygote.

    Example

    The fish swims to the bottom of the river to lay its eggs.

    Example

    In many species, the female produces a limited number of eggs during her reproductive cycle compared to the vast quantity of sperm produced by the male.
    • ovum
    • gamete
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  1. 3 a person (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    a person of a particular type, often used with an adjective like 'good' or 'bad'.

    a person characterized by a specific quality, typically used in informal idiomatic expressions.

    Example

    My grandfather was a good egg who always helped his neighbours.

    Example

    Despite his gruff exterior, the old professor was known among the faculty as a thoroughly good egg.
  2. 4 transgender context (n.)
    C1 Advanced Slang

    a person who has not yet realised they are transgender.

    a person who has not yet come to terms with or realised their transgender identity.

    Example

    He looked back at old photos and realised he had been an egg for years.

    Example

    The online community provides a supportive space for those who are still in the egg stage of their transition.

  3. 5 to encourage (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to strongly encourage or push someone to do something, often something silly or dangerous.

    to incite, instigate, or urge someone into action, typically used with the particle 'on'.

    Example

    His friends started to egg him on to jump into the cold lake.

    Example

    The crowd began to egg the protesters on, creating a volatile atmosphere that the police struggled to contain.

    Usage

    almost always used as the phrasal verb 'egg on'
  4. 6 to throw eggs at (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    to throw raw eggs at a person or a building as a joke or a protest.

    to pelt a person, vehicle, or structure with raw eggs as an act of vandalism or protest.

    Example

    Some teenagers decided to egg the school on Halloween night.

    Example

    The politician's car was egged by a group of angry demonstrators during his visit to the rural district.
Etymology 1

The noun is derived from Middle English eg, egg, egge (“egg of a domestic or wild fowl; egg of a snake”) [and other forms] (originally Northern England and Northeast Midlands), from Old Norse egg (“egg”), from Proto-Germanic ajją (“egg”) (by Holtzmann’s law), from Proto-Indo-European h₂ōwyóm (“egg”), probably from h₂éwis (“bird”), from h₂ew- (“to consume”). Doublet of huevo, oeuf, and ovum. Cognates Cognate with North Frisian ai (“egg”), Saterland Frisian Oai (“egg”), West Frisian aai, aei (“egg”), Bavarian Oa (“egg”), Dutch ei (“egg”), German Ei (“egg”), German Low German Ai, Ägg (“egg”), Limburgish ei, Éï (“egg”), Luxembourgish Ee (“egg”), Mòcheno oi (“egg”), Vilamovian e (“egg”), Yiddish איי (ey, “egg”), Danish æg (“egg”), Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk egg (“egg”), Swedish ägg (“egg”), Crimean Gothic ada (“egg”); also Breton vi (“egg”), Cornish oy (“egg”), Welsh wy (“egg”), Latin ōvum (“egg”), Greek αβγό (avgó), αυγό (avgó, “egg”), Albanian vo (“egg”), Belarusian and Russian яйцо́ (jajcó, “egg”), Bulgarian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”), Czech vejce (“egg”), Macedonian јајце (jajce, “egg”), Polish jajo (“egg”), Serbo-Croatian ја́јце, jájce (“egg”), Slovak vajce (“egg”), Slovene jájce (“egg”), Ukrainian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”), Ossetian айк (ajk), айкӕ (ajkæ, “egg”), Armenian ձու (ju, “egg”), Northern Kurdish hêk (“egg”), Southern Kurdish خا (xa, “egg”), Zazaki hak (“egg”), Pashto هګۍ (hagë́y), ويه (wë́ya, “egg”), Persian خاگ (xâg), خایه (xâye, “egg”). The native English ey [and other forms] (plural eyren) (obsolete), from Old English ǣġ, is also derived from Proto-Germanic *ajją. It survived into at least c. 16th century before being fully displaced by egg. The verb is derived from the noun.

Etymology 2

From Middle English eggen (“to urge on; to entice, incite, lure, tempt; to encourage, exhort, stimulate; (reflexive) to bestir (oneself); to challenge, taunt; to enrage, irritate”), from Old English eggian (“to egg, excite”), from Old Norse eggja (“to incite, egg on”), from egg (“an edge”), from Proto-Germanic agjō (“a corner; an edge”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂eḱ- (“sharp”). Cognates * Danish ægge, egge (“to incite, egg on; to excite, rouse”) * Swedish egga (“to excite, egg on”) * Faroese eggja (“to incite, egg on; to sharpen”) * Icelandic eggja (“to incite, egg on”) * Old English ġeeġġian (“to incite, egg on”) * Old Frisian eggia (“to fence”) * Middle Low German eggen (“to sharpen”) * Old High German ungiekkōt (“unworked, unformed”) * Middle High German ecken (“to sharpen”), German ecken (archaic) Compare typologically another cognate: Russian поощря́ть (pooščrjátʹ), akin to Russian о́стрый (óstryj), ultimately from the same PIE root. Also compare typologically noncognate: Bulgarian потиквам (potikvam), Czech nabádat (“urge, exhort”), Russian подстрека́ть (podstrekátʹ).

Word family
Idioms8 entries

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