dig
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /dɪɡ/
rhymes: -ɪɡ
Forms: form: digs
Etymology: 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.
Senses: synonyms: excavation
glosses: An archeological or paleontological investigation, or the site where such an investigation is taking place.
examples: text: He guffawed and gave me a dig in the ribs after telling his latest joke.
synonyms: jab
glosses: A thrust; a poke.
examples: text: […] '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.
ref: 1836, The Court Magazine and Belle Assemblée, volume 7, page 167:
glosses: A hard blow, especially (boxing) a straight left-hander delivered under the opponent's guard.
topics: ball-games
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
volleyball
glosses: A defensive pass of the ball that has been attacked by the opposing team.
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: An innings.
examples: text: Buckram ! that's a dig at my trade.
ref: 1838, John Baldwin Buckstone, The Irish Lion. A Farce, in One Act, page 15:
text: 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.
ref: 1961 October, “The winter timetables of British Railways: Southern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 593:
text: 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.
ref: 2012, Anne Applebaum, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-56, page ccxcix:
text: 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.
ref: 2013, William T. Vollmann, An Afghanistan Picture Show: Or, How I Saved the World:
text: 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.
ref: 2018, Paul Maunder, The Wind At My Back: A Cycling Life:
text: She could have made a dig about the size of his rockets.
ref: 2021 December 8, Arwa Mahdawi, “Elon Musk is learning a hard lesson: never date a musician”, in The Guardian:
synonyms: jibe
glosses: A cutting, sarcastic remark.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 207:
glosses: The occupation of digging for gold.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 1892, Occident - Volume 22, page 36:
glosses: A plodding and laborious student.
glosses: A tool for digging.
examples: text: a £1 charity shop dig
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A rare or interesting vinyl record bought second-hand.
Derived terms: dig box
Related terms: cratedigger
digs