egg

CEFRA1

/ˈ(j)ɛɡ/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    An oval object laid by a female bird or other animal.

  2. 02

    verb

    To encourage someone to do something, often foolish or risky.

Examples

  • It's so hot that you could cook an egg on the hood of a car.

  • The rugby ball is shaped something like an egg.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈeɪ̯ɡ/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, housing the embryo within a membrane or shell during its development.

  2. An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, often housing an embryo within a membrane or shell during its development.

  3. The (usually) non-developing, edible egg (sense 1.1) of a domestic fowl such as a duck, goose, or, especially, chicken; (uncountable) the contents of such an egg or eggs used as food.

More examples

In context

  • I should determine the minimal amount of egg required to make good mayonnaise.

  • The farmer offered me some fresh eggs, but I told him I was allergic to egg.

  • We made a big omelette with three eggs for breakfast.

Synonyms

Quick test

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Nearby

Origin

noun

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”), Yid...