Adjacent Words

Egg definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EGG, n. [L. ovum, by a change of g into v.] A body formed in the females of fowls and certain other animals, containing an embryo or fetus of the same species, or the substance from which a like animal is produced. The eggs of fowls when laid are covered with a shell, and within is the white or albumen, which incloses the yolk or yellow substance. The eggs of fish and some other animals are united by a viscous substance, and called spawn. Most insects are oviparous.
Egg, to incite, is a more blunder. [See Edge.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: animal reproductive body consisting of an ovum or embryo together with nutritive and protective envelopes; especially the thin-shelled reproductive body laid by e.g. female birds
2: oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food [syn: egg, eggs]
3: one of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens; "she kicked him in the balls and got away" [syn: testis, testicle, orchis, ball, ballock, bollock, nut, egg] v
1: throw eggs at
2: coat with beaten egg; "egg a schnitzel"

Merriam Webster's

I. transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse eggja; akin to Old English ecg edge — more at edge Date: 13th century to incite to action — usually used with on <egged the mob on to riot> II. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English egge, from Old Norse egg; akin to Old English ?g egg, Latin ovum, Greek ?ion Date: 14th century 1. a. the hard-shelled reproductive body produced by a bird and especially by the common domestic chicken; also its contents used as food b. an animal reproductive body consisting of an ovum together with its nutritive and protective envelopes and having the capacity to develop into a new individual capable of independent existence c. ovum 2. something resembling an egg 3. person, sort <a good egg> • eggless adjective • eggy adjective III. transitive verb Date: 1833 1. to cover with egg 2. to pelt with eggs

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. 1 a the spheroidal reproductive body produced by females of animals such as birds, reptiles, fish, etc., enclosed in a protective layer and capable of developing into a new individual. b the egg of the domestic hen, used for food. 2 Biol. the female reproductive cell in animals and plants. 3 colloq. a person or thing qualified in some way (a tough egg). 4 anything resembling or imitating an egg, esp. in shape or appearance. Phrases and idioms: as sure as eggs is (or are) eggs colloq. without any doubt. egg-beater 1 a device for beating eggs. 2 US sl. a helicopter. egg-custard = CUSTARD(1). egg-flip (or -nog) a drink of alcoholic spirit with beaten egg, milk, etc. eggs (or egg) and bacon any of various yellow- and orange-shaded plants, esp. the snapdragon or toadflax. egg-spoon a small spoon for eating a boiled egg. egg-timer a device for timing the cooking of an egg. egg-tooth a projection of an embryo bird or reptile used for breaking out of the shell. egg-white the white of an egg. have (or put) all one's eggs in one basket colloq. risk everything on a single venture. with egg on one's face colloq. made to look foolish. Derivatives: eggless adj. eggy adj. (eggier, eggiest). Etymology: ME f. ON, rel. to OE æg 2. v.tr. (foll. by on) urge (egged us on to it; egged them on to do it). Etymology: ME f. ON eggja = EDGE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gamete Gam"ete (g[a^]m"[=e]t; g[.a]*m[=e]t"; the latter usually in compounds), n. [Gr. gameth` wife, or game`ths husband, fr. gamei^n to marry.] (Biol.) A sexual cell or germ cell; a conjugating cell which unites with another of like or unlike character to form a new individual. In Bot., gamete designates esp. the similar sex cells of the lower thallophytes which unite by conjugation, forming a zygospore. The gametes of higher plants are of two sorts, sperm (male) and egg (female); their union is called fertilization, and the resulting zygote an o["o]spore. In Zo["o]l., gamete is most commonly used of the sexual cells of certain Protozoa, though also extended to the germ cells of higher forms.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Egg Egg, n. [OE., fr. Icel. egg; akin to AS. [ae]g (whence OE. ey), Sw. ["a]gg, Dan. [ae]g, G. & D. ei, and prob. to OSlav. aje, jaje, L. ovum, Gr. 'w,o`n, Ir. ugh, Gael. ubh, and perh. to L. avis bird. Cf. Oval.] 1. (Popularly) The oval or roundish body laid by domestic poultry and other birds, tortoises, etc. It consists of a yolk, usually surrounded by the ``white'' or albumen, and inclosed in a shell or strong membrane. 2. (Biol.) A simple cell, from the development of which the young of animals are formed; ovum; germ cell. 3. Anything resembling an egg in form. Note: Egg is used adjectively, or as the first part of self-explaining compounds; as, egg beater or egg-beater, egg case, egg ladle, egg-shaped, etc. Egg and anchor (Arch.), an egg-shaped ornament, alternating with another in the form of a dart, used to enrich the ovolo; -- called also egg and dart, and egg and tongue. See Anchor, n., 5. --Ogilvie. Egg cleavage (Biol.), a process of cleavage or segmentation, by which the egg undergoes endogenous division with formation of a mass of nearly similar cells, from the growth and differentiation of which the new organism is ultimately formed. See Segmentation of the ovum, under Segmentation. Egg development (Biol.), the process of the development of an egg, by which the embryo is formed. Egg mite (Zo["o]l.), any mite which devours the eggs of insects, as Nothrus ovivorus, which destroys those of the canker worm. Egg parasite (Zo["o]l.), any small hymenopterous insect, which, in the larval stage, lives within the eggs of other insects. Many genera and species are known.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Egg Egg, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Egged; p. pr. & vb. n. Egging.] [OE. eggen, Icel. eggja, fr. egg edge. ??. See Edge.] To urge on; to instigate; to incite? Adam and Eve he egged to ill. --Piers Plowman. [She] did egg him on to tell How fair she was. --Warner.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(eggs, egging, egged) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. An egg is an oval object that is produced by a female bird and which contains a baby bird. Other animals such as reptiles and fish also lay eggs. ...a baby bird hatching from its egg. ...ant eggs. N-COUNT 2. In Western countries, eggs often means hen's eggs, eaten as food. Break the eggs into a shallow bowl and beat them lightly. ...bacon and eggs. N-VAR 3. Egg is used to refer to an object in the shape of a hen's egg. ...a chocolate egg. N-COUNT: usu supp N 4. An egg is a cell that is produced in the bodies of female animals and humans. If it is fertilized by a sperm, a baby develops from it. It only takes one sperm to fertilize an egg. N-COUNT 5. see also Easter egg, nest egg, Scotch egg 6. If someone puts all their eggs in one basket, they put all their effort or resources into doing one thing so that, if it fails, they have no alternatives left. The key word here is diversify; don't put all your eggs in one basket. PHRASE: usu v PHR 7. If someone has egg on their face or has egg all over their face, they have been made to look foolish. If they take this game lightly they could end up with egg on their faces. PHRASE: face inflects, have/with PHR 8. a chicken and egg situation: see chicken

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Heb. beytsah, "whiteness"). Eggs deserted (Isa. 10:14), of a bird (Deut. 22:6), an ostrich (Job 39:14), the cockatrice (Isa. 59:5). In Luke 11:12, an egg is contrasted with a scorpion, which is said to be very like an egg in its appearance, so much so as to be with difficulty at times distinguished from it. In Job 6:6 ("the white of an egg") the word for egg (hallamuth') occurs nowhere else. It has been translated "purslain" (R.V. marg.), and the whole phrase "purslain-broth", i.e., broth made of that herb, proverbial for its insipidity; and hence an insipid discourse. Job applies this expression to the speech of Eliphaz as being insipid and dull. But the common rendering, "the white of an egg", may be satisfactorily maintained.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(betsah; oon; Latin ovum):

An oval or spheroid body produced by birds, fishes and reptiles, from which their young emerge when incubated or naturally developed. The fertile egg of a bird consists of the yolk, a small disk from which the embryo develops, the albuminous white, and a calcareous shell. The most ancient records prove that eggs have been used as an article of diet ever since the use of the flesh of fowl began. Chickens were unknown in Palestine in the days of Job, so that his query concerning the taste of the white of an egg might have referred to those of pigeons, ducks, eggs taken from the nests of geese or swans, game birds or ostriches. "Can that which hath no savor be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?" (Job 6:6, the Revised Version, margin "the juice of purslain"). In Lu 11:12 there is every possibility that the egg of our common domestic fowl is referred to as "chickens" (which see) had been imported and were numerous in Palestine at that time. "Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion?" The reference in Isa 59:5 is to the egg of a serpent, and is figurative of the schemes of evil men: "They hatch adders' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth; and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper."

Gene Stratton-Porter

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Ovum. II. v. a. 1. [With on.] Urge, incite, instigate, push, stimulate, encourage. 2. [With into.] Provoke, harass, harry.

Foolish Dictionary

A wholesome, yet fowl, product, of no use until broken. Sometimes a cure for indigestion or bad acting.

Moby Thesaurus

Anlage, albumen, boiled eggs, bud, caviar, coddled eggs, deviled eggs, dropped eggs, egg cell, egg white, eggs, eggshell, embryo, female gamete, fish eggs, fried eggs, germ, germen, glair, loins, nucleus, omelet, ooecium, ovicell, ovule, ovum, poached eggs, roe, rudiment, scrambled eggs, seed, shirred eggs, souffle, spawn, spermatozoon, stirp, stuffed eggs, vitellus, white, yellow, yolk