swinish en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈswaɪnɪʃ/
Etymology
From Middle English swinisse, swynys, swynyse; equivalent to swine + -ish.
Meanings
-
Like a pig, resembling a swine; gluttonous, coarse, debased.
[…]They clip vs drunkards, and with Swiniſh phraſe / Soyle our addition, and indeede it takes / From our atchieuements, though perform’d at height / The pith and marrow of our attribute[…]
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:Epicurus, though his ethic seemed to others swinish and lacking in moral exultation, was very much in earnest.
1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.27:Near-synonyms: boarish, boarlike
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more swinish | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most swinish | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
Synonyms
hoggish · porcine · hoglike · piglike · piggish · boarish · swinelike · boarlike
Translations (2)
grc χοιρώδης (like a pig, resembling a swine) · bg свински (like a pig, resembling a swine)