Added 7 October 2026
dig
/dɪɡ/ symbol
In Latin: fodiō, cavō Wiktionary
symbol Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about dig at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
verb
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To move hard-packed earth out of the way, especially downward to make a hole with a shovel. Or to drill, or the like, through rocks, roads, or the like. More generally, to make any similar hole by moving material out of the way.
They dug an eight-foot ditch along the side of the road.
-
To get by digging; to take from the ground; often with up.
to dig potatoes
- To take ore from its bed, in distinction from making excavations in search of ore.
noun
- An archeological or paleontological investigation, or the site where such an investigation is taking place.
- Any act of digging to find or retrieve something.
-
A thrust; a poke.
He guffawed and gave me a dig in the ribs after telling his latest joke.
verb
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To understand.
You dig?
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To appreciate, or like.
Baby, I dig you.
Origin
From Middle English diggen (“to dig”, 13th c.), an alteration of dīken, from Old English dīcian (“to dig a ditch, mound up earth”), from Proto-West Germanic *dīkōn, which see for cognates. This verb is denominal from Proto-Germanic *dīkaz (“pool, puddle; dyke, ditch”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to stab, dig”). The form with g may have been influenced by Old French *diguer, a variant of dikier, itself from the West Germanic verb above. French forms with g are attested only in the 15th c., thus 200 years later than in English. On the other hand, French has according forms also for the underlying noun (cf.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)