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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2004pigsney
I came upon the word "pigsney" while surfing my OED Online which is defined as "one particularly cherished; a darling pet." The OED says that it has a dialect usage, Does anybody know what dialect still uses the term? > I came upon the word "pigsney" while surfing my OED Online which is > defined as "one particularly cherished; a darling pet." The OED says > that it has a dialect usage, Does anybody know what dialect still > uses the term? *The Century Dictionary* of 1895 showed it as being obsolete: From www.century-dictionary.com [quote] pigsney[obsolete], pigsny[obsolete] /'pIgznI/, _n._ [Also _pigsnye, pigsnie ;_ < M.E. _piggesnye, piggesneyghe,_ lit. 'pig's-eye'; _pigges,_ gen. of _pigge,_ pig ; _neyghe,_ a variant, with attracted _n_ of indef. art., of _eyghe,_ etc., eye: see _eye_1.] 1. A pig's eye: used, like _eye_ and _apple of the eye,_ to denote something especially cherished; hence, as a term of endearment used of or to a woman, a darling. She was a primerole, a _piggesnye._ _Chaucer,_ Miller's Tale, 1. 82. Miso, mine own _pigsnie,_ thou shalt hear news of Dame- tas. _Sir P. Sidney,_ Arcadia, iii. Thou art, As I believe, the _pigsney_ of his heart. _Massinger,_ Picture, ii, 1. 2. An eye: applied to a woman's eye. [Humor- ous.] Shine upon me but benignly, With that one, and that other _pigsney._ _S. Butler,_ Hudibras, II. i. 560. 3. The carnation pink. [end quote]  SignatureRaymond S. Wise Minneapolis, Minnesota USA E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com >> I came upon the word "pigsney" while surfing my OED Online which is >> defined as "one particularly cherished; a darling pet." The OED says >> that it has a dialect usage, Does anybody know what dialect still >> uses the term? > >*The Century Dictionary* of 1895 showed it as being obsolete: [snip] The only recent (well, relatively recent) usage that springs to mind is in C S Lewis's Screwtape Letters, 1942 (where it's spelt 'pigsnie'). The context assumes that the reader (likely to be fairly well-educated English) is familiar with the term. It's the fnal letter from the senior devil, Screwtape, to his nephew, Wormwoood, after Wormwood, to Screwtape's unconcealed glee, has made a terminal mistake and is heading for liquidation. Screwtape begins: "My dear, my very dear, Wormwood, my poppet, my pigsnie" bb Wood Avens spamtrap: remove number to reply > I came upon the word "pigsney" while surfing my OED Online which is > defined as "one particularly cherished; a darling pet." The OED says > that it has a dialect usage, Does anybody know what dialect still > uses the term? Jonathan Green doesn't restrict its use to any particular dialect, and he is not loath to do so in cases where he can. Notice the spelling difference, though. "SE" = "standard English" pigsnyes /n./ [late 18C] a coarse term of endearment used to a woman. [SE /pig's eyes/; ? the implication is of a pig, greedy, in this case, for sex] Neither Ayto nor Chapman&Kipfer (was Wentworth&Flexner) list this term. AHD4 labels it (in both senses) as /Obsolete/ with no indication of dialect use. The OED full-text search yields 6 instances of "pigsney," 2 of "pigsnye" (both from 1386 and s.v. "pigsney") and none of Green's "pigsnyes." SignatureMartin Ambuhl > I came upon the word "pigsney" while surfing my OED Online which is > defined as "one particularly cherished; a darling pet." The OED says > that it has a dialect usage, Does anybody know what dialect still > uses the term? C. S. Lewis, who normally wrote perfectly good English, spelled it "pigsnie" in "The Screwtape Letters"; Screwtape's last letter opens with the salutation "My dear, my very dear Wormwood, my poppet, my pigsnie". SignatureChris Green |
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