biggin

¹ American  

[big-in] / ˈbɪg ɪn /

noun

Archaic.

1. a close-fitting cap worn especially by children in the 16th and 17th centuries.

2. a soft cap worn while sleeping; nightcap.

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biggin ² American  

[big-in] / ˈbɪg ɪn /

noun

1. a coffeepot, usually silver, having a separate container in which the coffee is immersed while being boiled.

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biggin ¹ British  

/ ˈbɪɡɪn /

noun

1. a plain close-fitting cap, often tying under the chin, worn in the Middle Ages and by children in the 17th century

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biggin ² British  

/ ˈbɪɡən /

noun

1. a construction, esp a house or cottage

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Etymology

Origin of biggin¹

1520–30; < Middle French beguin kind of hood or cap, originally one worn by a Beguine

Origin of biggin²

After Biggin, the name of its early 19th-century inventor

Example Sentences

This was poetry indeed; like the Scotchman and his house, we kent it by the biggin o't.

From Shandygaff by Morley, Christopher

Joost your neebor's biggin in a low!—zha's a'.

From Punch - Volume 25 (Jul-Dec 1853) by Various

They're biggin a boat, sir; and they like to hae me by them, as they big, to say sangs to them.

From Alec Forbes of Howglen by MacDonald, George

The easiest utensil is what is called a filter, or coffee-pot, or biggin, according to locality, with a top to diffuse the water.

From Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks by Blot, Pierre

This is no mine ain house, My ain house, my ain house; This is no mine ain house, I ken by the biggin o’t.

From The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham by Burns, Robert