# egg

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɛɡ/ · frequency rank #3,227

## Definitions
1. An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, housing the embryo within a membrane or shell during its development.
2. An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, housing the embryo within a membrane or shell during its development.
3. An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, housing the embryo within a membrane or shell during its development.
4. Synonym of ovum (“the female gamete of an animal”); an egg cell.
5. A thing which looks like or is shaped like an egg (sense 1.1).
6. A thing which looks like or is shaped like an egg (sense 1.1).
7. A thing which looks like or is shaped like an egg (sense 1.1).
8. A thing which looks like or is shaped like an egg (sense 1.1).
9. A thing which looks like or is shaped like an egg (sense 1.1).
10. A thing which looks like or is shaped like an egg (sense 1.1).
11. Senses relating to people.
12. Senses relating to people.
13. Senses relating to people.
14. Senses relating to people.
15. Senses relating to people.
16. Senses relating to people.
17. Senses relating to people.
18. Something regarded as containing a (usually bad) thing at an early stage.
19. One of the blocks of data injected into a program's address space for use by certain forms of shellcode, such as "omelettes".

## Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English eg, egg, egge (“egg of a domestic or wild fowl; egg of a snake”) [and other forms] (originally Northern England and Northeast Midlands), from Old Norse egg (“egg”), from Proto-Germanic *ajją (“egg”) (by Holtzmann’s law), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (“egg”), probably from *h₂éwis (“bird”), from *h₂ew- (“to consume”). Doublet of huevo, oeuf, and ovum.
Cognates
Cognate with North Frisian ai (“egg”), Saterland Frisian Oai (“egg”), West Frisian aai, aei (“egg”), Bavarian Oa (“egg”), Dutch ei (“egg”), German Ei (“egg”), German Low German Ai, Ägg (“egg”), Limburgish ei, Éï (“egg”), Luxembourgish Ee (“egg”), Mòcheno oi (“egg”), Vilamovian e (“egg”), Yiddish איי (ey, “egg”), Danish æg (“egg”), Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk egg (“egg”), Swedish ägg (“egg”), Crimean Gothic ada (“egg”); also Breton vi (“egg”), Cornish oy (“egg”), Welsh wy (“egg”), Latin ōvum (“egg”), Greek αβγό (avgó), αυγό (avgó, “egg”), Albanian vo (“egg”), Belarusian and Russian яйцо́ (jajcó, “egg”), Bulgarian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”), Czech vejce (“egg”), Macedonian јајце (jajce, “egg”), Polish jajo (“egg”), Serbo-Croatian ја́јце, jájce (“egg”), Slovak vajce (“egg”), Slovene jájce (“egg”), Ukrainian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”), Ossetian айк (ajk), айкӕ (ajkæ, “egg”), Armenian ձու (ju, “egg”), Northern Kurdish hêk (“egg”), Southern Kurdish خا (xa, “egg”), Zazaki hak (“egg”), Pashto هګۍ (hagë́y), ويه (wë́ya, “egg”), Persian خاگ (xâg), خایه (xâye, “egg”).
The native English ey [and other forms] (plural eyren) (obsolete), from Old English ǣġ, is also derived from Proto-Germanic *ajją. It survived into at least c. 16th century before being fully displaced by egg.
The verb is derived from the noun.

## Easily confused with
- **ex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-ex)
- **et** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-et)
- **EU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-eu)
- **em** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-em)
- **el** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-el)
- **en** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-en)
- **eh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-eh)
- **er** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-er)
- **EP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-ep)
- **ES** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-es)
- **EV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-ev)
- **ew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-ew)
- **ey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-ey)
- **ez** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-ez)
- **Ek** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-ek)
- **EI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-ei)
- **eo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-eo)
- **EJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-ej)
- **end** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-end)
- **eye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egg-vs-eye)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/egg