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dig

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: dIG, DIG, dìg, díg, and dɨg

Translingual

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Etymology

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Clipping of English Digo.

Symbol

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dig

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Digo.

See also

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English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
A fox digs in the dirt.

Etymology 1

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From Middle English diggen (“to dig”, 13th c.), an alteration of dīken, from Old English dīcian (“to dig a ditch, mound up earth”), from Proto-West Germanic *dīkōn, which see for cognates. This verb is denominal from Proto-Germanic *dīkaz (“pool, puddle; dyke, ditch”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to stab, dig”).

The form with g may have been influenced by Old French *diguer, a variant of dikier, itself from the West Germanic verb above. French forms with g are attested only in the 15th c., thus 200 years later than in English. On the other hand, French has according forms also for the underlying noun (cf. digue) and the phonetic development is more plausible in French than in English.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /dɪɡ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪɡ

Verb

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

  1. (transitive, intransitive) To move hard-packed earth out of the way, especially downward to make a hole with a shovel. Or to drill, or the like, through rocks, roads, or the like. More generally, to make any similar hole by moving material out of the way.
    They dug an eight-foot 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.
    My seven-year-old son always digs a hole in the middle of his mashed potatoes and fills it with gravy before he starts to eat them.
  2. (transitive) To get by digging; to take from the ground; often with up.
    to dig potatoes
    to dig up gold
  3. (mining) To take ore from its bed, in distinction from making excavations in search of ore.
  4. (US, slang, dated) To work like a digger; to study ploddingly and laboriously.
  5. (figurative) To investigate, to research, often followed by out or up.
    to dig up evidence
    to dig out the facts
    • 2013 September-October, Henry Petroski, “The Evolution of Eyeglasses”, in American Scientist:
      Digging deeper, the invention of eyeglasses is an elaboration of the more fundamental development of optics technology. The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone, essentially what today we might term a frameless magnifying glass or plain glass paperweight.
  6. To thrust; to poke.
    He dug an elbow into my ribs and guffawed at his own joke.
  7. (volleyball) To defend against an attack hit by the opposing team by successfully passing the ball
Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

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dig (plural digs)

  1. An archeological or paleontological investigation, or the site where such an investigation is taking place.
    Synonym: excavation
  2. A thrust; a poke.
    Synonym: jab
    He guffawed and gave me a dig in the ribs after telling his latest joke.
  3. (archaic, slang) A hard blow, especially (boxing) a straight left-hander delivered under the opponent's guard.
    • 1836, The Court Magazine and Belle Assemblée, volume 7, page 167:
      […] 'let him go, I tell you, or I'll be after breaking your ugly mug,' and with that I gave him a dig that knocked him into smithereens.
  4. (volleyball) A defensive pass of the ball that has been attacked by the opposing team.
  5. (cricket) An innings.
  6. A cutting, sarcastic remark.
    Synonym: jibe
    • 1838, John Baldwin Buckstone, The Irish Lion. A Farce, in One Act, page 15:
      Buckram ! that's a dig at my trade.
    • 1961 October, “The winter timetables of British Railways: Southern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 593:
      Why this already very fast train should be speeded up still further, when none of the other more easily timed S.R. West of England trains has a single minute pared from its schedule, is unexplained - unless this is a playful dig at the Western Region, most of whose expresses, by reason of additional stops, will be decelerated from the same date.
    • 2012, Anne Applebaum, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-56, page ccxcix:
      Entitled 'On Several Mistakes of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia', this document is broader, more theoretical and more rambling than the Polish equivalent, identifying deep problems in many spheres. But it does get in a few digs at Slánský, accusing him of having made mistakes in recruitment to the communist party.
    • 2013, William T. Vollmann, An Afghanistan Picture Show: Or, How I Saved the World:
      Unfortunately, the man was too busy, although he said hello to the Young Man politely enough and found the time to make a few digs about the postponement of the elections.
    • 2018, Paul Maunder, The Wind At My Back: A Cycling Life:
      In 'Sorted for E's and Whizz', Pulp's Jarvis Cocker wrote about losing an important part of his brain somewhere in a field in Hampshire, and took a dig at the rave scene for being hypocritical – idealistic and friendly when everyone was coming up on their pills, less so when everyone's coming down and you're trying to get a lift home – and essentially meaningless.
    • 2021 December 8, Arwa Mahdawi, “Elon Musk is learning a hard lesson: never date a musician”, in The Guardian‎[1]:
      She could have made a dig about the size of his rockets.
  7. The occupation of digging for gold.
    • 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 207:
      Don Quixote told us that Western Australia was the same to him as any other country, except that it possessed the charm of novelty, and he assured us that as soon as he was well enough he would be off on the "dig" once more.
  8. (US, colloquial, dated) A plodding and laborious student.
    • 1892, Occident - Volume 22, page 36:
      Between the two extremes of college men the unsocial dig and the flunking swell, lies the majority, who, acknowledging the duty and merit of hard work, see the value in social and recreative line, but are at somewhat of a loss, seemingly, how to proportionize the time given to the different sides of college life, or how far to allow themselves to go on the more attractive side.
  9. (UK, dialect, dated) A tool for digging.
  10. (music, slang) A rare or interesting vinyl record bought second-hand.
    a £1 charity shop dig
Derived terms
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Translations
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See also
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Etymology 2

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    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, thus being a Doublet of twig.[2] Others do not propose a distinct etymology, instead considering this a semantic shift of the existing English term (compare dig in/dig into).[3]

    Pronunciation

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    Verb

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

    1. (dated slang) To understand.
      You dig?
      • 1974, “H2Ogate Blues”, in Winter in America, performed by Gil Scott-Heron:
        McCord has blown. Mitchell has blown. No tap on my telephone / Halderman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell, and Dean / It follows a pattern if you dig what I mean
    3. (dated slang, transitive) To appreciate, or like.
      Baby, I dig you.
      • 1957, Jack Kerouac, chapter 6, in On the Road, Viking Press, →OCLC, part 2:
        «And dig her!» yelled Dean, pointing at another woman. «Oh, I love, love, love women! I think women are wonderful! I love women!»
      • 1971, Joni Mitchell, “California”, in Blue:
        Oh, but California / California, I'm coming home / I'm going to see the folks I dig
      • 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 432:
        Louie said, "I dig this Theo. I'm gonna learn Swahili and rap with him."
    Derived terms
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    Translations
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    Etymology 3

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    Shortening.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    dig (uncountable)

    1. (medicine, colloquial) Digoxin.
      dig toxicity

    Etymology 4

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    Unknown. Compare Middle English digge.

    Noun

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    dig (plural digs)

    1. (Lancashire, obsolete) A duck.
      • 10 March, 1616, excerpt from "A true and perfect Inventory of all the Goods &c. which late were of Philippe Oldfeid," reprinted in 1890, J.P. Earwaker (ed., compiler), "Badwall Township: Berington of Moorsbarrow and Bradwall, Pedigree" in The History of the Ancient Parish of Sandbach, Co. Chester. [… ]
        Powltrey, &c, &c.
        Item ten turkeys [...]
        Item three Digs [an old Cheshire word for duck] and a Drake [...]
        Item ffower Capons [...]
        [The word's gloss has been inserted by Earwaker]
      • 1877, Lieut.-Col. Egerton Leigh, M.P., A Glossary of Words Used in The Dialect of Cheshire., London: Hamilton, Adams, and Co., pages 61–62:
        dig, or digg, s.—A duck. A gentleman introduced a man to an old lady in America as an inhaitant of Cheshire, her old county. "I'll soon see," said she, "if he is reet Cheshire born. Tell me," said she to the man, "what a dig, a snig, a grig, a peckled poot, and a peannot are?" B. Kennett in his Glossary of the British Museum, has the word "dig." "As fierce as a dig," is a Lancashire and probably a Cheshire proverb, and reminds one of the Cloucestershire name for a sheep, viz.: "A Cotswold lion."
      • 1953, John Lunn, “Beasts on the Common, 1613”, in A Short History of the Township of Tyldesley […] , Longsight, Manchester: Co-operative Wholesale Society Limited:
        Smith's farm was near to Parrs; new buildings had been built in the Hemp Croft. He carried coals in his cart by an inside chest, and had three hives of bees and several spinning wheels; his poultry comprised four hens, two diggs or ducks, and one drake. His total estate was £66. 10s.

    References

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

    See also

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    Anagrams

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    Afrikaans

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    Pronunciation

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    Etymology 1

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    From Dutch dicht, from Middle Dutch dicht, from Old Dutch *thīht, from Proto-Germanic *þinhtaz.

    Adjective

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    dig (attributive digte, comparative digter, superlative digste)

    1. closed, shut, tight
    2. dense, thick (e.g. smoke)
    Inflection
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    Inflection of dig
      predicative attributive independent partitive
    singular plural
    positive dig digte digtes digs
    comparative digter digtere digteres digters
    superlative digste digstes —

    Etymology 2

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    From Dutch dichten, from Middle Dutch dichten, from Latin dictō.

    Verb

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    dig (present dig, present participle digtende, past participle gedig)

    1. (intransitive) to compose a poem
    Derived terms
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    Danish

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    Pronunciation

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    Pronoun

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    dig (nominative du, possessive din)

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

    Usage notes

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    Also used as a reflexive pronoun with a 2nd person subject

    Danish personal pronouns
    Number Person Type Nominative Oblique Possessive
    common neuter plural
    Singular First – jeg mig min mit mine
    Second modern / informal du dig din dit dine
    formal (uncommon) De Dem Deres
    Third masculine (person) han ham hans
    feminine (person) hun hende hendes
    common (noun) den dens
    neuter (noun) det dets
    indefinite man en ens
    reflexive – sig sin sit sine
    Plural First modern vi os vores
    archaic / formal vor vort vore
    Second – I jer jeres
    Third – de dem deres
    reflexive – sig

    Old Irish

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    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    dig

    1. inflection of deug:
      1. accusative/dative singular
      2. nominative/accusative/vocative dual

    Mutation

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    Mutation of dig
    radical lenition nasalization
    dig dig
    pronounced with /ðʲ-/    		 ndig

    Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
    All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

    Romanian

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    Etymology

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    Borrowed from French digue.

    Noun

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    dig n (plural diguri)

    1. dike

    Declension

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    singular plural
    indefinite definite indefinite definite
    nominative-accusative dig digul diguri digurile
    genitive-dative dig digului diguri digurilor
    vocative digule digurilor

    Salar

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    Etymology

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    Inherited from Proto-Turkic *tik. Cognate to Azerbaijani, Gagauz, Turkish, and Turkmen dik.

    Pronunciation

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    • (Xunhua, Qinghai; Gansu; Ili, Xinjiang) IPA(key): /tiɣ/

    Adjective

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    dig

    1. steep
      Bu boynaq dig-a.
      This slope looks steep.
    2. straight
      U digçük dixilbar.
      He stood straight.

    References

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    • 林 (Lin), 莲云 (Lianyun) (1992), “dig”, in 撒拉汉汉撒拉词汇 [Salar-Chinese, Chinese-Salar Vocabulary], 成都: 四川民族出版社, →ISBN, page 40
    • Yakup, Abdurishid (2002), “dig”, in An Ili Salar Vocabulary: Introduction and a Provisional Salar-English Lexicon‎[2], Tokyo: University of Tokyo, →ISBN, page 78
    • Ma, Chengjun; Han, Lianye; Ma, Weisheng (December 2010), “dig”, in 米娜瓦尔 艾比布拉 (Minavar Abibra), editor, 撒维汉词典 (Sāwéihàncídiǎn) [Salar-Uyghur-Chinese dictionary] (in Chinese), 1st edition, Beijing, →ISBN, page 82
    • 马伟 (Ma Wei); 朝克 (Chao Ke) (2016), “dig”, in 濒危语言——撒拉语研究 [Endangered Languages ​​- Salar Language Studies], 青海 (Qinghai): 国家社会科学基金项目 (National Social Science Foundation Project), pages 88, 293

    Scottish Gaelic

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    Verb

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    dig

    1. obsolete spelling of tig

    Swedish

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    Alternative forms

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    • dej (strongly colloquial)
    • re (colloquial, pronunciation spelling)
    • rej (colloquial, pronunciation spelling)

    Etymology

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    From Old Norse þik, from Proto-Germanic *þek, from Proto-Indo-European *te-ge.

    Pronunciation

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    Pronoun

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    dig

    1. you (singular objective case)
      Du är här, så jag ser dig
      You [subject] are here, so I see you [object]
      Jag älskar dig
      I love you
      Jag har inte sett dig på flera månader
      I haven't seen you in [several] months
      Nisse! Dig har jag inte sett på flera månader.
      Nisse! I haven't seen you [emphasis] in [several] months.
      Ursäkta, jag såg dig inte
      Sorry, I didn't see you
      Ursäkta, jag såg de / såg're inte [Common unstressed pronunciation variants – see IPA. /rɛ(j)/ is especially common in some dialects.]
      Sorry, I didn't see you
      Jag kan köra're till träningen [Common unstressed pronunciation variant]
      I can drive you to [the] [soccer, etc.] practice
      Ta're(j) en sup [Common unstressed pronunciation variant]
      Have yourself a drink
      • 1974, Lasse Tennander, “Ska vi gå hem till dig [Shall We Go to Your Place ["home to you" – idiomatic]]”, in Allting som ni gör kan jag göra bättre [Anything You Do, I Can Do Better [a cover album]]‎[3], performed by Magnus Uggla:
        Ska vi gå hem till dig eller hem till mig, eller var och en hem till sitt? Ska vi göra som dom andra och ägna oss åt varandra, eller ska var och en sköta sitt?
        Shall we go to your place ["home to you" – idiomatic] or to my place [home to me], or each one ["each and one" – idiomatic] home to theirs [nominalized – neuter gender is used when there is no concrete referent, like in impersonal constructions and here, as a rule of thumb]? Shall we do like the others and spend time on each other [engage in each other as an activity – doesn't have the connotations of "devote"], or shall each one mind [take care of] theirs [nominalized]?
      • 1981, X Models, “Två av oss [Two of us]”‎[4]:
        Det finns bara en av mig och det är jag. Det finns bara en av dig och det är du. Det finns bara två av oss, och det är vi.
        There is only one of me and that is I. There is only one of you [object] and that is you [subject]. There are only two of us, and that is us [we – subject]. [Swedish has some of the same subject/object fuzziness as English, but a standalone "Det är <pronoun>" idiomatically (through intuition rather than being taught) uses the subject form]
    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?

    Usage notes

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    • 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 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.
    • Dej (along with mej) was popular as a semi-informal spelling around the 1970s to 1980s, and is therefore seen in many old song lyrics, for example. Usage has now mostly reverted back to dig.

    Declension

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    Swedish personal pronouns
    Number Person nominative oblique possessive
    common neuter plural
    singular first — jag mig, mej3 min mitt mina
    second — du dig, dej3 din ditt dina
    third masculine (person) han honom, han2, en5 hans
    feminine (person) hon henne, na5 hennes
    gender-neutral (person)1 hen hen, henom7 hens
    common (noun) den den dess
    neuter (noun) det det dess
    indefinite man or en4 en ens
    reflexive — sig, sej3 sin sitt sina
    plural first — vi oss vår, våran2 vårt, vårat2 våra
    second — ni er er, eran2, ers6 ert, erat2 era
    archaic I eder eder, eders6 edert edra
    third — de, dom3 dem, dom3 deras
    reflexive — sig, sej3 sin sitt sina
    1Neologism. Usage has increased since 2010, though it remains limited.
    2Informal
    4Dialectal, also used lately as an alternative to man, to avoid association to the male gender.
    5Informal, somewhat dialectal
    6Formal address
    7Discouraged by the Swedish Language Council

    Derived terms

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    References

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    Welsh

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    Etymology

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    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).[1]

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    dig m (uncountable)

    1. anger, wrath
      Synonyms: dicter, digofaint, llid

    Adjective

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    dig (feminine singular dig, plural dig, equative diced, comparative dicach, superlative dicaf)

    1. angry, wrathful
      Synonym: dicllon
    2. indignant
    3. bitter, grievous

    Derived terms

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    Mutation

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    Mutated forms of dig
    radical soft nasal aspirate
    dig ddig nig unchanged

    Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
    All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

    References

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    1. ^ R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “dig”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

    Yola

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    Etymology

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    From Middle English digge.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    dig

    1. duck
      Synonyms: digger, duucks

    References

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    • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 35
    Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=dig&oldid=88598759"