biggen

English

Etymology 1

From big +‎ -en. More at big.

Verb

biggen (third-person singular simple present biggens, present participle biggening, simple past and past participle biggened)

1. (rare, obsolete) To make bigger
   • 1837, Ebenezer Elliott, “Rhymed Rambles”, in Tait's Edinburgh Magazine, page 89:

     Our spirits, biggened by their griefs and fears, Sadden and dwindle, with their backward view, All they behold.

   • 1898, Margaret Georgina Todd, Mona Maclean, Medical Student, page 359:

     What has biggened it?

   • 1914, The Cornhill Magazine‎^[1], volume 104, page 414:

     We both belong to a big State, and it's growing bigger every day. I like to think that in my small way I'm helping to biggen it.

Related terms

• embiggen

Etymology 2

Verb

biggen

1. Pronunciation spelling of begin.

Anagrams

• beggin'

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪɣən

Noun

biggen

1. plural of big

Anagrams

• beging

Middle English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Norse byggja.

Alternative forms

• beggen, buggen

Verb

biggen

1. build
   • a. 1450, John Lydgate:

     Thy place is bygged above the sterres clere

     Your house is built above the shining stars.

2. dwell

Derived terms

• bigger

References

• “biggen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Verb

biggen

1. Alternative form of bien

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈpiːɡːɡen/

Verb

bīggen

1. first-person singular past indicative of bieggat

Scots

Verb

biggen

1. to be pregnant