Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or resembling swine or a pig.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In zoology, resembling or related to swine; suilline: as, porcine characters or affinities.
  • Swinish; hoggish; piggish: applied to persons in derision or contempt.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to swine; characteristic of the hog.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of, or pertaining to, the pig.
  • adjective Overweight to the extent of resembling a pig; morbidly obese.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective resembling swine; coarsely gluttonous or greedy
  • adjective relating to or suggesting swine
  • adjective repellently fat

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French porcin, from Latin porcīnus, from porcus, pig; see porko- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the Latin adjective porcinus, from the noun porcus ("pig").

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Examples

  • In August, Philippine authorities sent samples from the dead pigs to the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York, where scientists detected the presence of several diseases, including a devastating pig virus known as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, or blue-ear pig disease.

    Philippines Moves to Fight Pig Ebola 2008

  • As I watch the ways of Madam Pig, with her litter of piglets – "a wreath of girls with brothers intertwined" – I am led to think there are really wonderful advantages in porcine being.

    Janey Canuck in the West Emily Ferguson 1910

  • And then the day after this health care bill passes, the FDA announces that a popular rotovirus vaccine made by Merck is being halted because it is contaminated with a mysterious DNA sequence from a pig virus called porcine circovirus type 1 or PCV-1.

    WN.com - Articles related to Vidya Balan's favourite actress is Rani 2010

  • And then the day after this health care bill passes, the FDA announces that a popular rotovirus vaccine made by Merck is being halted because it is contaminated with a mysterious DNA sequence from a pig virus called porcine circovirus type 1 or PCV-1.

    WN.com - Articles related to Vidya Balan's favourite actress is Rani 2010

  • And then the day after this health care bill passes, the FDA announces that a popular rotovirus vaccine made by Merck is being halted because it is contaminated with a mysterious DNA sequence from a pig virus called porcine circovirus type 1 or PCV-1.

    WN.com - Articles related to Vidya Balan's favourite actress is Rani 2010

  • The Rotarix vaccine has been found to contain a pig virus called porcine circovirus 1, or PCV1.

    NewsInferno Laurie 2010

  • And then the day after this health care bill passes, the FDA announces that a popular rotovirus vaccine made by Merck is being halted because it is contaminated with a mysterious DNA sequence from a pig virus called porcine circovirus type 1 or PCV-1.

    WN.com - Articles related to Vidya Balan's favourite actress is Rani 2010

  • Academic researchers found DNA from an unexpected virus, known as porcine circovirus 1 (PCV1) in the Rotarix vaccine, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.

    Rotavirus vaccine for children investigated: What you should know 2010

  • Academic researchers found DNA from an unexpected virus, known as porcine circovirus 1 PCV1 in the Rotarix vaccine, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.

    Rotavirus vaccine for children investigated: What you should know 2010

  • PCV2 is known as porcine circovirus closely associated with post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS).

    BioMed Central - Latest articles Shuanghui Yin 2010

Comments

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  • A pretty cruel adjective, when applied to people.

    April 13, 2007