Egg

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Egg, n. [OE., fr. Icel. egg; akin to AS. æg (whence OE. ey), Sw. ägg, Dan. æg, 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.].

•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  A simple cell, from the development of which the young of animals are formed; ovum; germ cell.  [1913 Webster]
•  Anything resembling an egg in form.  [1913 Webster]

  " 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."  [1913 Webster]

Egg and anchor (Arch.), see egg-and-dart in the vocabulary, below; -- 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 (Zoöl.), any mite which devours the eggs of insects, as Nothrus ovivorus, which destroys those of the canker worm. -- Egg parasite (Zoöl.), any small hymenopterous insect, which, in the larval stage, lives within the eggs of other insects. Many genera and species are known.

Egg, v. t. [OE. eggen, Icel. eggja, fr. egg edge. . See Edge.].

 To urge on; to instigate; to incite1913 Webster]
"Adam and Eve he egged to ill."  [1913 Webster]
"[She] did egg him on to tell
How fair she was."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Egg, n.
1 a the spheroidal reproductive body produced by females of animals such as birds, reptiles, fish, etc., enclosed in a protective layer and capable of developing into a new individual. b the egg of the domestic hen, used for food.
2 Biol. the female reproductive cell in animals and plants.
3 colloq. a person or thing qualified in some way (a tough egg).
4 anything resembling or imitating an egg, esp. in shape or appearance.

Idiom

as sure as eggs is (or are) eggs colloq. without any doubt. egg-beater
1 a device for beating eggs.
2 US sl. a helicopter. egg-custard = CUSTARD(1). egg-flip (or -nog) a drink of alcoholic spirit with beaten egg, milk, etc. eggs (or egg) and bacon any of various yellow- and orange-shaded plants, esp. the snapdragon or toadflax. egg-spoon a small spoon for eating a boiled egg. egg-timer a device for timing the cooking of an egg. egg-tooth a projection of an embryo bird or reptile used for breaking out of the shell. egg-white the white of an egg. have (or put) all one's eggs in one basket colloq. risk everything on a single venture. with egg on one's face colloq. made to look foolish.

Derivative

eggless adj. eggy adj. (eggier, eggiest).

Egg, v.tr. (foll. by on) urge (egged us on to it; egged them on to do it).

Etymology

ME f. ON eggja = EDGE

THESAURUS

Egg

Anlage, albumen, boiled eggs, bud, caviar, coddled eggs, deviled eggs, dropped eggs, egg cell, egg white, eggs, eggshell, embryo, female gamete, fish eggs, fried eggs, germ, germen, glair, loins, nucleus, omelet, ooecium, ovicell, ovule, ovum, poached eggs, roe, rudiment, scrambled eggs, seed, shirred eggs, souffle, spawn, spermatozoon, stirp, stuffed eggs, vitellus, white, yellow, yolk

ROGET THESAURUS

Egg

Beginning

N beginning, commencement, opening, outset, incipience, inception, inchoation, introduction, alpha, initial, inauguration, debut, le premier pas, embarcation, rising of the curtain, maiden speech, outbreak, onset, brunt, initiative, move, first move, narrow end of the wedge, thin end of the wedge, fresh start, new departure, origin, source, rise, bud, germ, egg, rudiment, genesis, primogenesis, birth, nativity, cradle, infancy, start, inception, creation, starting point, dawn, evolution, title-page, head, heading, van, caption, fatihah, entrance, entry, inlet, orifice, mouth, chops, lips, porch, portal, portico, propylon, door, gate, gateway, postern, wicket, threshold, vestibule, propylaeum, skirts, border, first stage, first blush, first glance, first impression, first sight, rudiments, elements, outlines, grammar, alphabet, ABC, beginning, initial, initiatory, initiative, inceptive, introductory, incipient, proemial, inaugural, inchoate, inchoative, embryonic, rudimental, primogenial, primeval, primitive, primordial, aboriginal, natal, nascent, first, foremost, leading, maiden, begun, just begun, at the beginning, in the beginning first, in the first place, imprimis, first and foremost, in limine, in the bud, in embryo, in its infancy, from the beginning, from its birth, ab initio, ab ovo, ab incunabilis, ab origine, let's get going!, let's get this show on the road!, up and at 'em!, aller Anfang ist schwer, dimidium facti qui coepit habet, omnium rerum principia parva sunt.

Cause

N cause, origin, source, principle, element, occasioner, prime mover, primum mobile, vera causa, author, mainspring, agent, leaven, groundwork, foundation, spring, fountain, well, font, fountainhead, spring head, wellhead, fons et origo, genesis, descent, remote cause, influence, pivot, hinge, turning point, lever, crux, fulcrum, key, proximate cause, causa causans, straw that breaks the camel's back, ground, reason, reason why, why and wherefore, rationale, occasion, derivation, final cause, les dessous des cartes, undercurrents, rudiment, egg, germ, embryo, bud, root, radix radical, etymon, nucleus, seed, stem, stock, stirps, trunk, tap-root, gemmule, radicle, semen, sperm, nest, cradle, nursery, womb, nidus, birthplace, hotbed, causality, causation, origination, production, caused, causal, original, primary, primitive, primordial, aboriginal, protogenal, radical, embryonic, embryotic, in embryo, in ovo, seminal, germinal, at the bottom of, connate, having a common origin, because, behind the scenes, causa latet vis est notissima, felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.