# All Germanic languages: words for pigs



## übermönch

*English:*
Swine
Pork
Sow
*Boar*
Pig
Piglet
Feargh

*Dutch:*
Zwijn (Swine)
Varken (pig)
*Beer *(Boar)
Ever (Boar)
Zög (Swine)
Big[-etje] (piglet)
*
Low German:*
Swien (pig)
Fark (piglet)
Pugge
Bigg (pig/piglet)
Sög (Swine)
*Borg *(castrated boar)
Äwer (boar)

*High German:*
Sau (Swine)
Schwein (pig) -[chen] (piglet)
Ferkel (piglet)
Eber (boar)



*Frankon German (Lorrainaise/Luxembourgois):*
Wutz (Pig)
*
Swiss German (Alsacien/Allemanic):
*Soi (Pig)
Grüübä (Pork)
Fäärlig (piglet) 
Suzäli (piglet)

*Swedish:*
 svin                    (swine)
 griskött/fläskkött   (pork)
 vildsvin                (boar)
 gris                     (pig)
 spädgris               (piglet)

*Gothic:*
Sus (Pig)
Suwos (Swine)
Ebrus (boar)

could you add more?


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## Neutrino

*Swedish:*
svin                    (swine)
griskött/fläskkött   (pork)
vildsvin                (boar)
gris                     (pig)
spädgris               (piglet)

I suppose swedish is a germanic language


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## Whodunit

Additional translation to German:

Piglet = Schweinchen/Ferkel


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## konungursvia

Sow is also a female pig in English. I've never heard of a feargh.


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## konungursvia

Also, I think varken in Dutch is the plural for pig, which is just vark.


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## Frank06

Hi,



konungursvia said:


> Also, I think varken in Dutch is the plural for pig, which is just vark.



I'm sorry, _varken_ is singular; _varken*s*_ is plural.
I think you're mixing up with English < South-African _aard*vark*_, which indeed is a singular_.
_
Groetjes,

Frank


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## optimistique

übermönch said:


> *Dutch:*
> Zwijn (Swine)
> Varken (pig)
> *Beer *(Boar)
> Ever (Boar)
> 
> Could you add more?



Yes, I can

The word for a piglet is a '*big*'. But since a piglet is (or may be) small and cute and cuddly it appears mostly in its diminutive form: '*biggetje*'. 
A female '_varken_' (pig) is a *zeug*, and *beer* is a male pig (if that is not what a boar is). Please note that the word 'ever' is not used on itself, but always as: '*everzwijn*', in Modern Dutch at least.


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## übermönch

Neutrino said:


> *Swedish:*
> svin                    (swine)
> griskött/fläskkött   (pork)
> vildsvin                (boar)
> gris                     (pig)
> spädgris               (piglet)
> 
> I suppose swedish is a germanic language


 Sure it is!



konungursvia said:


> Sow is also a female pig in English. I've never heard of a feargh.


 I'm sure it exist(ed/s in dialects), but I'm not sure about the spelling. It could also be fearh... or faerh.

 @optimistique
is there a difference between a beer and a everzvijn? And, sorry if that's a stupid question, aren't boars and bears confused in Dutch? (it _is _the same word, right?)

@Whodunit
I don't believe I've ever heared Fer*n*kel, is it the right/intentional spelling?


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## Whodunit

übermönch said:


> I'm sure it exist(ed/s in dialects), but I'm not sure about the spelling. It could also be fearh... or faerh.


 
farrow?



> @Whodunit
> I don't believe I've ever heared Fer*n*kel, is it the right/intentional spelling?


 
Stupid typo. Let me correct it.


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## übermönch

Whodunit said:


> farrow?


Well, farrow, being something full of fearhs, derives from it. I guess


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## optimistique

übermönch said:


> Sure it is!
> 
> @optimistique
> is there a difference between a beer and a everzvijn? And, sorry if that's a stupid question, aren't boars and bears confused in Dutch? (it _is _the same word, right?)


 
Yes there's a difference, an 'everzwijn' is a wild swine, that does not indicate any gender(a male everzwijn is a beer, but a female one is not). The termination 'beer/zeug' is just like for elephants 'stier/koe' (bull/cow). When you've seen a female elephant, you don't say: "I've seen a cow!" 
Likewise, you only refer to a male pig with 'beer' when it is already clear that you're talking about pigs (to contrast with the female pigs), because else indeed 'beer' means 'bear'.


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## Frank06

Hi,

I vaguely knew that farmers use a wider range of words for (farm) animals than 'city-folk'. While searching on line a bit, I found a few other words (in Dutch) related to pigs here. The first two I didn't know at all; they're apparantly only used by specialists. Nevertheless, I start to wonder if there are similar words in the other languages:

*borg* = castrated boar (also *barg*)
(which casts another light upon the Dutch expression 'borg staan')
*gelt* = female pig which didn't have had piglets yet (while "*zeug*", as the name indicates, refers to female pigs used in breading programs)
*speenvarken* = piglet of +/- 25 days old, separated from it's mother.

Groetjes,

Frank


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## Lugubert

Frank06 said:


> ... similar words in the other languages:
> 
> *borg* = castrated boar (also *barg*)
> (which casts another light upon the Dutch expression 'borg staan')
> *gelt* = female pig which didn't have had piglets yet (while "*zeug*", as the name indicates, refers to female pigs used in breading programs)
> *speenvarken* = piglet of +/- 25 days old, separated from it's mother.
> 
> Groetjes,
> 
> Frank


Swedish for gelt = gylta
Male = galt, orne
Any female pig = sugga, so.
The latter two seem to have no connection with (er)zeugen, but relate to a PIE *su- (Lat. sus, Eng. loan word hog.)


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## Aleco

*English:*
Swine
Pork
Sow
*Boar*
Pig
Piglet
Feargh

*Dutch:*
Zwijn (Swine)
Varken (pig)
*Beer *(Boar)
Ever (Boar)
Zög (Swine)
Big[-etje] (piglet)
*
Low German:*
Swien (pig)
Fark (piglet)
Pugge
Bigg (pig/piglet)
Sög (Swine)
*Borg *(castrated boar)
Äwer (boar)

*High German:*
Sau (Swine)
Schwein (pig) -[chen] (piglet)
Ferkel (piglet)
Eber (boar)



*Frankon German (Lorrainaise/Luxembourgois):*
Wutz (Pig)
*
Swiss German (Alsacien/Allemanic):
*Soi (Pig)
Grüübä (Pork)
Fäärlig (piglet) 
Suzäli (piglet)

*Swedish:*
 svin                    (swine)
 griskött/fläskkött   (pork)
 vildsvin                (boar)
 gris                     (pig)
 spädgris               (piglet)

*Norwegian:*
Svin (swine)
Grise- / Svinekjøtt (pork)
*Villsvin* (boar)
Gris (pig)
Piglet (piglet)

*Gothic:*
Sus (Pig)
Suwos (Swine)
Ebrus (boar)

could you add more?


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## Frank06

Hi,


Aleco said:


> *Dutch: *Zög (Swine)


 Must be 'zeug'

Groetjes,

Frank


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## Hutschi

High German

Wildschwein:

male: Keiler
female: Bache


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