Talk:Piggy Bank

I can find no corroboration in my sources for the etymology given in these pages for "piggy-bank". I consulted both The concise Oxford dictionary of English etymology by T.F. Hoad and The Oxford English Dictionary, second edition.

The OED has this to say about "pig": pig (pIg), n.1 Forms: 3­7 pigge, 4­6 pygge, 5 pygg, 5­8 pigg, 6 pyg, (7 bigg), 6­ pig. [Early ME. pigge:–prob. OE. *picga, *pigga. Etymology obscure.

"Etymology obscure" is the killer for me.

I also looked up "clay". The OED does not reference "pygg" as a variant word for clay. The OED traces "piggy-bank" only as far back as 1941 in written records.

I could be all wet about this, of course. But, for the time being, I must consign this word history to what etymologists call "folk etymology," i.e., it sounds reasonable, but 'taint so.


 * Agreed: apparent urban myth, like Eskimos having 999 words for snow or whatever. 86.130.249.236 (talk) 20:31, 7 October 2014 (UTC)