egg
1 [eg]
| 1. | the roundish reproductive body produced by the female of certain animals, as birds and most reptiles, consisting of an ovum and its envelope of albumen, jelly, membranes, egg case, or shell, according to species. |
| 2. | such a body produced by a domestic bird, esp. the hen. |
| 3. | the contents of an egg or eggs: raw egg; fried eggs. |
| 4. | anything resembling a hen's egg. |
| 5. | Also called egg cell. the female gamete; ovum. |
| 6. | Informal. person: He's a good egg. |
| 7. | Slang. an aerial bomb. |
| 8. | to prepare (food) by dipping in beaten egg. |
| 9. | egg on one's face, Informal. humiliation or embarrassment resulting from having said or done something foolish or unwise: They were afraid to back the losing candidate and wind up with egg on their faces. |
| 10. | lay an egg, Informal. to fail wretchedly, esp. to be unsuccessful in front of an audience: He laid an egg as the romantic hero. |
| 11. | put all one's eggs in one basket, to venture all of something that one possesses in a single enterprise. |
| 12. | walk on eggs, to walk or act very cautiously. |
bef. 900; ME < ON; r. ME ey, OE ǣg, G Ei egg; akin to L ōvum, Gk ōión egg

Related forms:
Egg, like beg, leg, and other words where “short e” precedes a “hard g” sound, is pronounced with the vowel [e]
of bet and let, except in parts of New England and the South Midland and southern U.S., where these words are frequently said with [-eyg], to rhyme with vague and plague, especially in the speech of the less educated. This raising of [e] to a higher vowel [ey], articulated with the upper surface of the tongue closer to the palate, also occurs before [zh], as in measure, pleasure, and treasure. Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.Cite This Source
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Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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egg (n.)
"And the goode wyf answerde, that she coude speke no frenshe. And the marchaunt was angry, for he also coude speke no frenshe, but wolde have hadde egges, and she understode hym not."She did, however, recognize another customer's request for "eyren." Egg nog is Amer.Eng. c.1775, from nog "strong ale," E.Anglian dial., of unknown origin. Eggplant is 1767, originally only of the white variety. Bad egg in the fig. sense is from 1855. To have egg on (one's) face "be made to look foolish" is first recorded 1964. Egg-beater is from 1828; slang sense of "helicopter" is from 1937. Eggshell as emblematic of "thin and delicate" is from 1835; as a color term, it dates from 1894.
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Main Entry: egg
Pronunciation: 'eg, 'Ag
Function: noun
1 : the hard-shelled reproductive body produced by a bird and especially by the common domesticchicken (Gallus gallus)
2 : an animal reproductive body consisting of an ovum together with its nutritive and protective envelopes and having the capacity to develop into anew individual capable of independent existence
3 : OVUM
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egg (ěg)
n.
The female sexual cell or gamete; an ovum.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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egg (ěg) Pronunciation Key
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Egg
(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.
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egg
In addition to the idioms beginning with egg, also see bad egg; good egg; goose egg; kill the goose that lays the golden eggs; lay an egg; put all one's eggs in one basket; walk on eggs.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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