pigginn.

Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps < pig n.² + a second element of uncertain origin; however, pig n.² is first attested slightly later and would perhaps also present semantic difficulties, as the present word mainly denotes wooden objects, not earthenware ones, although see note below.Irish pigín and Welsh picyn (15th cent.) are < English; Scottish Gaelic pigean is a diminutive form of pige , pigeadh (apparently < pig n.²). The word is applied very variously in different localities. While the object it denotes is generally wooden, in Northumberland and Westmorland it can also denote an earthenware pitcher. Sc. National Dict. (at cited word) records the word still in use in the sense ‘earthenware jar’ in Caithness in 1965. (It is possible that these uses may reflect confusion with pig n.², rather than a common origin.) In Northumberland the word can also denote an iron pot, and in West Yorkshire it can denote a tin receptacle. The size of the object denoted also varies according to purpose, e.g. Eng. Dial. Dict. (at cited word) records examples of the object variously ‘holding near a pint’, ‘containing about a quart’, and ‘holding from one to two gallons’.