α. 1800s nodget (Irish English), 1800s– nuget (Scottish), 1900s– nudget (U.S. regional).
β. 1800s nogget (New Zealand), 1800s nuggett (New Zealand), 1800s– nugget.
nuggetn.
/ˈnʌɡᵻt/, U.S. /ˈnəɡət/ 1.
a. Scottish, Irish English and Australian. A small, compact, stocky person; (also) an undersized animal, a runt.
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the world > life > the body > bodily height > shortness > [noun] > and broadness > person
knarc1405
hoddy-doddya1556
trunk1586
truncheon1601
stump1602
fubs1614
dumpling1617
punch1669
Punchinello1669
spud1688
knur1691
knurl1691
runt1699
squab1699
swad1706
humpty-dumpty1785
junt1787
knurlinga1796
pudge1808
stumpie1820
nugget1825
podge1834
dump1840
dumpy1868
pyknic1925
mesomorph1940
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Nuget, ‘one who is short of stature, and has a large belly,’ South of S. Nudget, I suspect, is the proper orthography; q. resembling a thick stick or rung.
1852 G. C. Mundy Our Antipodes III. x. 322 The word nugget among farmers signifies a small compact beast—a runt.
1898 J. Baillie Walter Crighton 63 Oh, the sleepy nugget, let us gie him a muggin'.
1906 Truth (Sydney) 18 Nov. 9/3 Jimmy Tonner and Charley White are a pair of nuggets about 5 ft. 3 in. with corporations in comparison.
1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 50 Nugget, a small, weedy horse or other animal. (2) A small stocky man.
1944 Barging About (43 Austral. Landing Craft Co.) Nov. 11 A measly little sawn-off runt who's known as ‘Nugget’ Kean.
1979 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 28 Apr. 17/2 We have numerous utility expressions for people such as..sparrow, squib, nugget and steak, for men of varying sizes.
b. Australian. An unbranded cow, esp. a calf.
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1872 G. S. Baden-Powell New Homes for Old Country 182 Fresh-born calves as yet unbranded..go by the name of ‘nuggets’.
1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms 14 We branded the little red heifer calf first—a fine fat six-months-old nugget.
1943 H. G. Lamond From Tariaro to Ross Roy 46 There were..quite a number of big cleanskins on camp. One estimate put those nuggets at about 800.
1976 J. H. Travers Bull Dust on Brigalow 23 We saw quite a few cattle and plenty of nuggets (unbranded cattle).
2. New Zealand. In the southern South Island: a small rocky outcrop or islet in the sea.Recorded earliest in a place name.
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the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > sedimentary formation > [noun] > stratum > position or direction of strata > outcrop
cropping1686
outburst1698
outbreak1714
crop-side1715
crop1719
outcrop1805
rock-head1835
nugget1844
blow1879
1844 J. W. Barnicoat Jrnl. 4 May 169 By night we dropped anchor off the Head, called ‘The Nuggetts’.
1892 T. M. Hocken & G. Fenwick Holiday Trip 2 A remarkably beautiful reflection of the breakers and island ‘nuggets’ off the coast.
1944 J. H. Beattie Maori Place-names Otago 85 There is a little nugget between Te Waitaua and The Neck and this is the nugget that the whaler, ‘C. A. Larsen’, struck. Its name is Whero (red).
1967 S. Natusch Animals N.Z. 267 [The tern] is seen in all New Zealand bays and..nests on islets and ‘nuggets’—which are little more than rocks, with a tuft of bush, set in the water.
3.
a. Originally Australian. A lump of gold or other metal found ready-formed in the earth.
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the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > native elements and alloys > [noun] > native gold > lump of
nugget1851
pickup1905
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > mass formed by collection of particles > dense or compact
clota1000
massa1382
gobbetc1384
clustera1387
lumpa1400
wedge1577
loaf1598
knot1631
clumper1673
clue1674
clump1699
lob1825
wodge1847
nugget1851
density1858
1851 J. H. Burton Emigrant's Man ii. 116 Small lumps, called ‘nuggets’, are..discovered in a remarkably pure state.
1852 G. C. Mundy Our Antipodes III. x. 322 Gold was not so plentiful as was anticipated,..nor were nuggets to be dug up..by the bushel.
1880 G. Sutherland Tales of Goldfields 86 When the nugget had been deposited on the floor of the banker's room, it was weighed.
1923 ‘B. M. Bower’ Parowan Bonanza 33 I've got a nugget in my shirt pocket that I didn't show you.
1963 A. Moorehead Cooper's Creek i. 3 They found nuggets [of gold] in the roots of the trees, in upturned grass, in the sands of shallow rivers.
1987 Sunday Express Mag. 29 Mar. 86/1 One of my..memories is of my father driving..across the veldt, my mother sitting beside him with a lapful of gold nuggets.
b. Any of a series of Australian gold bullion coins weighing from 1/ 10 oz. to 1 oz., introduced in 1986. More fully Australian nugget.
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society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > foreign coins > [noun] > Australian coins
ring dollar1828
holey (erron. holy) dollar1857
Australian nugget1986
1986 Times 7 June 7/8 The Perth Mint is to produce gold coins, the Australian Nuggets, to compete with the Krugerrand and Canada's Maple Leaf.
1991 High Life (Brit. Airways) May 26/1 Try telling that..to collectors of modern bullion coins who delight in totting up the gold value in their Canadian Maples, US Eagles, Australian Nuggets, [etc.].
1996 Independent 7 Feb. ii. 11/3 There is a wide choice of gold bullion coins, including sovereigns, Britannias,..Australian nuggets,..and Chinese Pandas.
4.
a. An aggregated lump of anything; a lump broken off from a larger mass.
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the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a separate part > a piece or bit > large or thick piece
luncheon1580
lunch1591
chuck1674
chunk1691
junt1718
daud1721
junk1726
hunch1790
hunk1809
dunt1813
knoll1829
nugget1853
slug1867
1853 Notes & Queries 1st S. vii. 393 A nugget of sugar.
1860 J. E. Tennent Story of Guns (1864) 244 Cast iron was found to crumble into harmless nuggets.
1891 J. H. Pearce Esther Pentreath iv. i Casy.., taking out the nugget of cake, held it timidly out to his rivals.
1912 Chambers's Jrnl. Aug. 544/1 The gum is found in lumps ranging from the size of a bean to a weight of two hundred and thirty pounds, the biggest ‘nugget’ yet discovered.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. xiii. 338 After a stormy night the shore of the Baltic at certain places is sometimes strewn with what might be called ‘nuggets’ of amber.
1999 J. Harris Chocolat (2000) xxxviii. 312 I select a dark nugget from the tray marked Eastern journey. Crystallised ginger in a hard sugar shell.
b. Chiefly in plural. An individual, usually deep-fried, morsel of food (typically chicken, turkey, or a vegetarian equivalent). Cf. chicken nugget n..
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the world > food and drink > food > amounts of food > [noun] > small quantity
breadeOE
crumbc975
snedec1000
snodec1150
morselc1300
swallow1340
modicumc1400
mouthful?c1450
tasting1526
taste1530
buckone1625
morceau1778
rive1793
nibble?1828
munchet1845
moufful1896
niblet1896
snade1901
nugget1951
nibbly1978
1951 C. Paddleford in N.Y. Herald Tribune 24 May 16/7 [Recipe for South Caroline barbecued chicken] Nuggets of meat.
1970 Nation's Restaurant News 13 Apr. 35/1 (advt.) Neptune's Golden Nuggets 69 cents Bite size morsels of crab & Shrimp.
1995 Spy (N.Y.) July 32/2 We crave nuggets, fajitas, boneless breasts, and turkey burgers.
1997 Fitness Nov. 120/3 A clever vegetable-and grain-protein knockoff of batter-fried nuggets..really does taste like chicken but with..75 percent less fat.
5. figurative. A precious thing; spec. a small and valuable (esp. abstract) thing concealed within something larger.
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the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > worth > [noun] > thing of worth
treasurec1200
margaritea1325
druery1340
store1410
relica1425
gemc1560
Jew's eye1593
worthy1598
wealth1650
gold dust1690
nugget1853
white gold1921
1853 S. Mossman & T. Bannister Austral. Visited & Revisited 191 She was delirious with joy as she clasped Browne in her arms, and called him her ‘nugget’.
1859 J. M. Jephson & L. Reeve Narr. Walking Tour Brittany xx. 344 Here and there a nugget of true poetry glitters among the clay.
1870 J. R. Lowell My Study Windows 209 His quotations are always nuggets of the purest ore.
1930 J. H. Jeans Universe around Us (ed. 2) i. 38 A sort of gold-rush in which claims are staked out, the surface scratched, the more conspicuous nuggets collected.
1978 Audubon Jan. 183 They in turn would credit technological nuggets like fully independent suspension, and zero offset steering.
1996 India Today 30 June 171/2 Books like this come only once in while: a nugget in the sea of crass psychobabble.
6. New Zealand. A type of shoe or boot polish, originally black. Hence (more widely): any boot polish (New Zealand and Australian slang).A proprietary name in New Zealand. Perhaps so called because it was originally sold as a ‘nugget’ or lump of polish.
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the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning shoes > [noun] > preparation for
blacking1598
blacking ball1740
boot-blacking1866
Shinola1902
nugget1903
1903 Suppl. to N.Z. Gaz. 1 Oct. The ‘Nugget’ 4349 [filed] 27th August, 1903. Preserving Leather from Cracking..The Nugget Polish Company Limited..London... Preparations for cleaning and polishing leather goods.
1914 Let. 18 Aug. in C. Pugsley Gallipoli (1984) 52 Please post me my nugget outfit and a spare tin or two of nugget.
1925 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 5 Jan. 11 Made by the manufacturers of Nugget Boot Polish—therefore it's good. ‘Nugget’ is made in Black, Brown (Tan), Dark Brown, Toney Red; also White for patent and Coloured Glace Leathers.
1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 50 Nugget,..boot-polish in general. From the name of a proprietary brand.
1948 in F. M. McKay James K. Baxter (1990) 116 Early that morning he turned up at Baigent's place and said: ‘Lawrence, you haven't any nugget, have you? I'm getting baptized today and look at my shoes.’
1986 P. Richardson Choices 95 Before the party broke up, the boys got some nugget and a brush and blackened the sleeping cook's face and bald head.
7. U.S. Nautical slang. An inexperienced junior officer; a newly trained naval aviator.
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1966 F. C. Elkins Diary 30 July in Heart of Man (1973) 80 And that..SOB tried to make those green nuggets in-flight refuel at night, over water,..at 700 feet.
1984 R. Cunningham & J. Ethell Fox Two 4 The Navy normally placed an experienced pilot with a ‘nugget’ backseater or vice-versa.
1991 R. Linnekin Eighty Knots 100 A number of us ‘nuggets’ had missed carrier qualification.
2000 T. Clancy Bear & Dragon 42 ‘Spade’..got hung on by my first CO, back when I was a new nugget. And it kinda stuck.
Compounds
General attributive or objective (in sense 3a), as nugget-gold, nugget-hunter, nugget-hunting, etc.
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1857 J. Ruskin Polit. Econ. Art i. 30 You dig him out as he lies nugget-fashion in the mountain-stream.
1880 G. Sutherland Tales of Goldfields 80 That [occupation] which gold miners call nugget-hunting... To the nugget-hunter [etc.].
1894 H. Nisbet Bush Girl's Romance 9 Those fingers of yours are too sticky for nugget-testing in the dark.
1906 T. Watts-Dunton Last Walk from Boar's Hill in Coming of Love ii. 277 We walk through flowery ways From Boar's Hill down to Oxford, fain to know What nugget-gold, in drift of Time's long flow, The Bodleian mine hath stored from richer days.
1982 Jrnl. Southern Hist. 48 375 Nugget-finding is a chancy business, for the amount of gold found as nuggets is proportionally small relative to the overall amount of gold present.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
nuggetv.
/ˈnʌɡᵻt/, U.S. /ˈnəɡət/, Australian English /ˈnʌɡət/ 1. transitive. Originally and chiefly Australian. To prise out in the form of gold nuggets. Also intransitive: to hunt for or extract gold nuggets. Also figurative. Now rare.
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1851 Empire (Sydney) 22 Aug. 75/5 One old man while nuggetting on the hills was fortunate enough to turn out a piece of gold weighing thirteen ounces.
1861 Bell's Life in Sydney 16 Nov. 2/3 Nuggetted some fine pieces.
1871 Austral. & Town Country Jrnl. (Sydney) 28 Jan. 113/3 The Bishop Brothers obtained a prospect of 22 oz. of gold nuggeted out.
1881 G. C. Evans Stories 129 My mate and I sank a hole 10 feet deep, and nuggeted two ounces off the bottom.
2001 Nelson (N.Z.) Mail (Nexis) 22 Dec. 11 It's the six months leading up to the festival when all the details are nuggeted out.
2. transitive. Australian. To steal (an unbranded calf). Also intransitive. Now rare.
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the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > stealing animals > [verb (transitive)] > carry off young animals
steal13..
nugget1881
1881 R. C. Praed Policy & Passion I. 52 To nugget: in Australian slang, to appropriate your neighbours' unbranded calves.
1885 R. C. Praed Head Station 239 Nobody would go there except after calves to nugget.
1893 R. C. Praed Outlaw & Lawmaker II. 19 In the days of their nefarious practices, [they] probably ‘nuggeted’ a good many..calves up here.
1905 Bulletin (Sydney) 13 Apr. 18/1 They go ‘nuggeting’, i.e., ‘Scrub-running’ for clean-skins.
3. transitive. Frequently figurative. To compact as a nugget, make into nuggets; to intersperse with in the form of nuggets. Usually in passive.
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the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > among other things > with things interspersed
intersperse1566
interseam1589
interfuse1593
to strew out1631
chequer1677
punctuate1848
nugget1881
1881 ‘M. Twain’ Let. 1 Nov. in Lett. to Publishers (1967) 144 Howell's review ought to be ‘nuggeted’, (I mean, the most telling remarks mustered together).
1993 USA Today (Nexis) 7 May 5 d Halberstam makes the narrative flow by nuggeting his prose with interesting, telling details.
1998 N.Y. Mag. 15 June 57/1 It offers sprightly arugula salad with Parmesan, risotto nuggeted with wild mushrooms, and a dessert of crème brûlée.
2001 LA Weekly (Nexis) 9 Nov. 57 There is an entire lobster nuggeted throughout my salad.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1825
v.1851