Date:  Tue, 16 Jan 1996 11:27:22 -0700

From:  Rudy Troike <RTROIKE[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU>

Subject: Re: Piggin (Bucket)



Sorry for the earlier blank message accidentally sent --

    Following once again the model of my sainted OE prof, Rudolph Willard,

I repaired to the OED (as every varietologist should do when checking the

background of forms), and found

    Piggen - obs. var. of piggin

    Piggin - A small pail or cylindrical vessel, esp. a wooden one with

one stave longer than the rest serving as a handle; a milking pail; a vessel

to drink out of. The word is recorded in the Eng. Dial. Dict. from

Northumberland to Hampshire, also from Shetland, but it is not prevalent in

Scotland. It is applied very variously in different localities [examples

given run from an earthenware pot to a tin receptacle]. First listed from

1554. An 1863 ref. is from Georgia "a very small cedar pail".



--Rudy Troike (rtroike[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ccit.arizona.edu)