piggin

Origin unknown; dates back at least to the 16th century English. Compare Scottish Gaelic pigean, diminutive of pigeadh, pige (“an earthen jar, pitcher, or pot”), Irish pigín, pighead, Welsh picyn.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɪɡɪn/

piggin (plural piggins)

1. (dialect) A small pail, can, or ladle with the handle on the side; a lading-can. In the colonial era, some buckets were made like a small barrel, but with one stave left extra long. This stave would be carved into a handle so the bucket could be used as an oversized scoop for scattering grain, slopping the hogs, etc.

   Synonyms: pig, pigg

   • 1899, Charles W. Chesnutt, The Goophered Grapevine:

     At length a little negro girl appeared, walking straight as an arrow, with a piggin full of water on her head.

• piggin bottoms