DictionaryAI

egg

EG/ɛɡ/

Pluraleggs

23 meanings of egg

Practice

  1. 1
    foodnouncountable
    The edible product of a domestic fowl such as a duck, goose, or especially a chicken, the shell contents of which are eaten as food.

    She cracked a fresh egg into the hot pan.

    The recipe calls for three eggs and a cup of milk.

    UsageThree eggs for whole ones, but egg with no a for egg as a substance: egg on his chin.

  2. 2
    shell with youngnouncountable or uncountable
    A roughly spherical or oval body laid by birds, reptiles, insects and other animals, in which an embryo develops inside a membrane or shell if it has been fertilized.

    Each egg hatched after about three weeks of incubation.

    Female turtles return to the same beach to lay their eggs.

    UsageAnimals lay eggs, and the young hatch from them; the eggs themselves are also said to hatch.

  3. 3
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The female reproductive cell of an animal or plant; the female gamete, also called an egg cell or ovum.

    Fertilization occurs when a sperm fuses with the egg.

    Hormone treatments can stimulate the ovaries to release several eggs.

    Similarovum

    Note

    The female gamete in animals and plants: a haploid reproductive cell that, upon fertilization by a sperm, fuses to form a diploid zygote; also termed the ovum or egg cell.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • An egg is the female gamete in animals, also called an ovum or egg cell. en.wiktionary.org
    • Plants also produce female gametes called egg cells. openstax.org
    • The egg is haploid, and fertilization joins it with sperm to form a diploid zygote. openstax.org
    • Ovum and egg cell are alternative terms. en.wikipedia.org

    Each mature egg carries a single set of chromosomes until fertilization restores the diploid number.

    In humans, a single egg is typically released during each menstrual cycle.

  4. 4
    oval objectnouncountable
    An object that looks like or is shaped like an egg.

    The sculpture was a giant stone egg balanced on its narrow end.

    He collected decorative eggs carved from jade and onyx.

    Similarovoid, oval

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–4, 6–19

The noun goes back to *h₂ōwyóm, the Proto-Indo-European word for "egg," which probably came from *h₂éwis ("bird"), with the idea of an animal clothed in feathers. Through Proto-Germanic *ajją it reached Old Norse as egg, which was borrowed into Middle English as eg or egg, first in Northern England. A native English form, ey (plural eyren), from Old English ǣġ, lasted until about the 16th century, when egg fully took its place. The verb was formed from the noun.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 8 facts

  • The noun ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm, meaning ‘egg’. en.wiktionary.org
  • The reconstructed word for ‘egg’ probably derives from *h₂éwis, meaning ‘bird’. en.wiktionary.org
  • An etymological hypothesis interprets the word for ‘bird’ as referring to something clothed in feathers. en.wiktionary.org
  • The word passed through Proto-Germanic *ajją into Old Norse egg, which supplied Middle English eg and egg. en.wiktionary.org
  • The Middle English borrowing was initially northern. en.wiktionary.org
  • Native English ey, with plural eyren, descended from Old English ǣġ. en.wiktionary.org
  • The native form survived until approximately the sixteenth century before egg displaced it. en.wiktionary.org
  • The verb associated with the natural egg derives from the noun. en.wiktionary.org
Meaning 5

Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- ("sharp") ultimately led to Proto-Germanic *agjō ("a corner, an edge") and to Old Norse egg ("an edge"). From that came Old Norse eggja ("to incite, egg on"), which gave Old English eggian and then Middle English eggen ("to urge on, incite, encourage").

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts