Word.ws English Dictionary

hogshead

Syllables: hogs·head/ˈhɒɡzˌhɛd/US/ˈhɑɡzˌhɛd/

hogshead noun: a cask of a certain size; its volume used as a measure of capacity for liquids, containing 63 wine gallons, or about 52+¹⁄₂ imperial gallons (a half pipe).

hogshead: a cask of a certain size; its volume used as a measure of capacity for liquids, containing 63 wine...
Image: Grolltech, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

hogshead (plural hogsheads)

  1. (UK) A cask of a certain size; its volume used as a measure of capacity for liquids, containing 63 wine gallons, or about 52+¹⁄₂ imperial gallons (a half pipe).
    • [...] their vessels for use are made some of clay, of which sort some are so great as that they will containe more then one hogshead of water.1632, attributed to J. Day, A Pvblication of Gviana’s Plantation: […], London: Printed by William Iones for Thomas Paine, […], →OCLC, page 15
    • The best Veſſel for Conveyance, (if you carry above 20 Miles) is, a great Tun that holds five Hogſheads; but if no more than 10, 15, or 20 Miles, ordinary Hogſheads will do well enough. I know by Experience you may ſafely carry 300 Carps, ſix and ſeven Inches long, in one Hogſhead; but from ſeven...1713, [Roger North], “Of Fishing for Carriage”, in A Discourse of Fish and Fish-ponds, […], London: Printed for E[dmund] Curll, […], →OCLC, page 62
    Synonyms:
    hhd.
  2. A large barrel or cask of indefinite contents, especially one containing from 100 to 140 gallons.
    • [...] Now the Shippe boaring the Moone with her maine Maſt, and anon ſwallowed with yeſt and froth, as you'ld thruſt a Corke into a hogſhead.c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
    • [T]he Wind blowing from the Shore, nothing came to Land that Day, but Pieces of Timber, and a Hogſhead which had ſome Brazil Pork in it, but the Salt-water and the Sand had ſpoil'd it.1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 100

hogshead meaning in Kannada and Vietnamese

hogshead in Kannada

ದೊಡ್ಡ ಪೀಪಾಯಿ

hogshead in Vietnamese

measure of capacity for liquids
Bơrin

Examples of hogshead in a sentence

  • The best Veſſel for Conveyance, (if you carry above 20 Miles) is, a great Tun that holds five Hogſheads; but if no more than 10, 15, or 20 Miles, ordinary Hogſheads will do well enough.1713, [Roger North], “Of Fishing for Carriage”, in A Discourse of Fish and Fish-ponds, […], London: Printed for E[dmund] Curll, […], →OCLC...
  • Barrels came in firkins, nine gallons; kilderkins, eighteen gallons; halves, twenty-seven gallons; barrels, thirty-six gallons and hogsheads, fifty-four.1987, Keith Dunstan, The Amber Nectar, Ringwood: Vicking O'Neil, page 81:
  • So set me down as one that will refuse to come into your treaty, though you should smoke a hogshead of tobacco over it.1841, J[ames] Fenimore Cooper, chapter III, in The Deerslayer: A Tale. […], 1st British edition, volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […]...
  • When cool, it is taken out, packed into hogsheads, and is ready for market.1853, Solomon Northup, chapter XV, in [David Wilson], editor, Twelve Years a Slave. […], London: Sampson Low, Son & Co.; Auburn, N.Y....

Synonyms of hogshead

Forms of hogshead

pluralhogsheads

Origin of hogshead

From Late Middle English hogshead, hagyshed, hogeyshed, hoggesyde, hokkeshed, Middle English hoggeshed, hogges-hed, hogeshed, hoggeshede, hoggesheed, hoggesheudes, hoggesheved, hoggishede, hoggisheed, hoggyssehed, hogyshed, hoogeshed (“measure of liquid capacity equivalent to about 63 gallons; large barrel or cask”, literally “hog’s head”), from hog, hogge (“swine, especially a castrated male swine”) + hed (“animal or human head”), equivalent to hog + -s- + head. The connection between the cask and the head of a hog is uncertain, but may refer to the shape of the cask. The word has often been borrowed into other languages as “ox-head”.

Words formed from hogshead

Phrases with hogshead

Questions about hogshead

What does hogshead mean?
Hogshead means a cask of a certain size; its volume used as a measure of capacity for liquids, containing 63 wine gallons, or about 52+¹⁄₂ imperial gallons (a half pipe).
What is hogshead in Kannada?
Hogshead in Kannada is ದೊಡ್ಡ ಪೀಪಾಯಿ. See Hogshead meaning in Kannada.
How do you use hogshead in a sentence?
The best Veſſel for Conveyance, (if you carry above 20 Miles) is, a great Tun that holds five Hogſheads; but if no more than 10, 15, or 20 Miles, ordinary Hogſheads will do well enough.
What part of speech is hogshead?
Hogshead is a noun.
How do you pronounce hogshead?
Hogshead is pronounced /ˈhɒɡzˌhɛd/ (UK).
What is the plural of hogshead?
The plural of hogshead is hogsheads.

Words near hogshead in the dictionary

  1. Hogsed
  2. Hogseds
  3. Hogsett
  4. Hogsetts
  5. hogseye
  6. hogshead
  7. hogsheads
  8. hogship
  9. hogships
  10. hogshit
  11. hogskin

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hogshead (page history and authors); hogshead (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-hogshead.wav.

Cite this entry: “hogshead.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hogshead. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.