dig

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See also dìg, DIG, and dIG

Contents

[edit] English

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[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Etymology 1

Middle English diggen (“to dig”), alteration (possibly due to Danish dige) of Old English dīcian (“to dig a ditch, to mound up earth”) (compare Old English dīcere (“digger”)) from dīc, dīċ "dike, ditch" from Proto-Germanic *dīkaz, *dīkijan (“pool, puddle”), from Proto-Indo-European *dhīgw-, *dheigw- (“to stab, dig”). Akin to Danish dige "to dig, raise a dike", Swedish dika "to dig ditches". Related to, but not derived from Middle French diguer (“to dig”), itself a borrowing of the same Germanic root (from Middle Dutch dijk), as the Middle French word appears later than the Middle English word. More at ditch, dike.

[edit] Verb

dig (third-person singular simple present digs, present participle digging, simple past and past participle dug)

  1. To move hard-packed earth out of the way, especially downward to make a hole with a shovel. Or to drill etc. through rocks, roads, etc.
    They dug an eight foot deep ditch along the side of the road.
    In the wintertime, heavy truck tires dig into the road, forming potholes.
    If the plane can't pull out of the dive it is in, it'll dig a hole in the ground.
  2. (with "into") To research a particular subject.
    She is going to dig into Egyptian basket-weaving this semester.
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
to move hard-packed earth out of the way
to research a particular subject
(slang) to appreciate, or like
(slang) to understand or show interest in
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

[edit] Noun

dig (plural digs)

  1. An archeological investigation
  2. See digs
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Translations
archeological investigation

[edit] Etymology 2

From African American Vernacular English; due to lack of writing of slave speech, etymology is difficult to trace, but it has been suggested that it is from Wolof dëgg, dëgga (“to understand, to appreciate”).[1] It has also been suggested that it is from Irish dtuig.[2] Others do not propose a distinct etymology, instead considering this a semantic shift of the existing English term.[3]

[edit] Verb

dig (third-person singular simple present digs, present participle digging, simple past and past participle dug)

  1. (slang) To understand or show interest in.
    You dig?
  2. (slang) To appreciate, or like.
    Baby, I dig you.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Smitherman, Geneva (2000), Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner (revised ed.), Boston: Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0-395-96919-0
  2. ^ Random House Unabridged, 2001
  3. ^ eg: OED, "dig", from ME vt diggen

[edit] Anagrams

[edit] Danish

[edit] Pronoun

dig (nominative du)

  1. (personal) you (2nd person singular object pronoun, informal)

[edit] Usage notes

Also used as reflexive pronoun.

[edit] See also

Danish personal pronouns
Number Person Inflection Nominative Accusative Possessive Reflexive Reflexive possessive
Singular First common jeg mig min
neuter mit
plural mine
Second common du dig din
neuter dit
plural dine
polite form De Dem Deres
Third masculine han ham hans sig sin
feminine hun hende hendes
common den den dens
neuter det det dets sit
plural sine
Plural First — vi os vores
common vor
neuter vort
plural vore
Second – I jer jeres
polite form De Dem Deres
Third – de dem deres sig

[edit] Swedish

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Alternative forms

  • dej (strongly colloquial)

[edit] Pronoun

dig

  1. you (objective case, singular)
    Jag såg dig aldrig där
    I never saw you there
  2. reflexive case of du; compare yourself
    Skulle du vilja lära dig jonglera?
    Would you like to learn how to juggle?
    Skar du dig på kniven?
    Did you cut yourself on the knife?

[edit] See also

[edit] Usage notes

Note that some verbs have special senses when used reflexively. For example, do not confuse du lär dig att... ("you learn to...") [reflexive] with jag lär dig att... ("I teach you to...") or du lär dig själv att... ("you teach yourself to..."). Here, lär means teach(es) if it is not reflexive, but learn(s) if it is reflexive. Thus, the the separate pronoun "dig själv" is needed when object and subject agree, even though the verb should not be used in the reflexive case.

Also note that in the imperative, when there's usually no explicit subject given, the "själv" is dropped.

[edit] Declension

Swedish personal pronouns
subject object possessive
singular full full common neuter plural
1st person jag mig min mitt mina
2nd person du dig din ditt dina
3rd person masculine han honom hans
3rd person feminine hon henne hennes
3rd person common den den dess
3rd person neuter det det dess
3rd person indefinite man en ens
3rd person reflexive — sig sin sitt sina
plural
1st person vi oss vår vårt våra
2nd person ni er er ert era
3rd person de dem deras
3rd person reflexive — sig sin sitt sina
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