swīn
neuter
In Old English, pork is expressed as swīn or swīnes flǣsċ.
Meaning: meat of a pig (noun)
Ways to say it
| Old English | Note |
|---|---|
| swīn | neuter |
| swīnes flǣsċ | neuter |
The term for pork refers to the meat of a pig. While swīn is the primary term, it can represent the animal or the meat depending on context, though swīnes flǣsċ is more specific to the flesh itself.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase swīnes flǣsċ is a compound consisting of the genitive swīnes (pig's) and flǣsċ (flesh).
Which one should you use?
The word swīn refers to the pig as an animal, whereas swīnes flǣsċ specifically refers to the meat of the animal.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form swīnes is the genitive singular of swīn, which is used to indicate possession or origin.
Did you know?
- While we use the French-derived word 'pork' in modern English, an Old English speaker would never have used that word, as 'pork' entered English much later via Norman French.
- In early English literature, mentions of swīn often appear in contexts of hospitality and feast-giving, symbolizing wealth and the ability to provide for guests.
- The pronunciation of the swīn vowel would have sounded much closer to the modern 'ee' in 'seen' rather than the modern 'eye' sound in 'swine'.
Example sentences for Old English are not verified yet.
Example conversation
A couple is deciding what to eat for dinner.
- ÆthelstanHwæt wilt þū etan, Eadgyth?What do you want to eat, Eadgyth?
- EadgythIc wille swīn etan.I want to eat pork.
- ÆthelstanWē habbaþ swīn on bēode.We have pork on the table.
- EadgythÞæt is gōd, Æthelstan.That is good, Æthelstan.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “pork” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
