porknell

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Middle English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun[edit]

porknell

  1. A little pig.
  2. A fat person.
    • c. 1300s, unknown poet (possibly Sir Hugh Eglintoun), The 'Gest hystoriale' of the destruction of Troy, Early English Text Society (1869, 1874), page 206:
      Polidarius, the porknell, and his pere Machaon, / Suet with the xvij, sad men & noble.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes[edit]

  • Various sources indicate that this word survived into Modern English, but is now obsolete.

References[edit]