Join free

biggin

English · Français

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

biggin¹

  • /ˈbɪɡɪn/

Rhymes with -ɪɡɪn

Where it comes from

From French béguin. Compare beguine.

noun biggins

  1. archaic A child's cap; (figuratively) childhood. […] my brain has been topsy-turvy, they say, ever since the biggin was bound first round my head; so turning me upside down may peradventure restore it again.
  2. historical An official's hood or coif.

biggin²

  • /ˈbɪɡɪn/

Rhymes with -ɪɡɪn

Where it comes from

Said to have been from the inventor's surname.

noun biggins · bigging

  1. A coffee pot with a strainer or perforated metallic vessel for holding the ground coffee, through which boiling water is poured. As he became more popular, household objects were brought into requisition for his instruction in a copious vocabulary; and whenever he appeared in the Yard ladies would fly out at their doors crying ‘Mr Baptist—tea-pot!’ ‘Mr Baptist—dust-pan!’ ‘Mr Baptist—flour-dredger!’ ‘Mr Baptist—coffee-biggin!’

biggin³

  • /ˈbɪɡɪn/

Rhymes with -ɪɡɪn

Where it comes from

Unknown

noun biggins

  1. A drinking vessel for ale or beer; possibly a tankard. Oswald's wife then put before him a large pie, and some wheaten bread, with a biggin of good beer.

Biggin⁴

  • /ˈbɪɡɪn/

proper noun

  1. A small village and civil parish by Hulland, Derbyshire Dales district, Derbyshire (OS grid ref SK2648).
  2. A village in Hartington Nether Quarter parish, Derbyshire Dales district, Derbyshire (OS grid ref SK1559).
  3. A hamlet north of Tilbury, Thurrock borough, Essex (OS grid ref TQ6577).
  4. A village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, previously in Selby district (OS grid ref SE5434).

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"biggin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/biggin. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

biggin. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/biggin

Chicago

"biggin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/biggin.

BibTeX
@misc{biggin_2026,
  title = {biggin},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/biggin},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}