English Explanatory Dictionary

higgledy-piggledy

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. In utter disorder or confusion; mixed up.
adv
  1. In a confused, disordered, or random way.
noun
  1. A disordered jumble; a confusion.
noun
  1. A double-dactyl; a short poem with eight lines in dactylic meter.
  2. Any of various word games using rhyming compounds or dactylic words or phrases.

Pronunciation

/ˈhɪɡəldiˌpɪɡəldi/ en-us-higgledy-piggledy.ogg

Word forms

higgledy-piggledy more higgledy-piggledy most higgledy-piggledy higgledypiggledy hoggledy-piggledy hoggledy-poggledy huggledy-piggledy higgledy-piggledies

Etymology

A reduplicated rhyming compound. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests a possible link to pig, since the animals huddle in irregular groups, but notes that the connection is uncertain. First use appears c. 1598. The first part of the old alternative form, hoggledy-piggledy, may derive from the archaic Welsh hogldy, a hovel.

Synonyms

disordered disorderly hugger-mugger jumbled topsy-turvy raggle-taggle willy-nilly hodgepodge

Related words

hodgepodge

Derived words

higgledy
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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