quahog
English
Etymology
Most often thought to be from Narragansett poquaûhock (“hard clam”), perhaps from pohkeni (“dark”) + hogki (“shell”). Alternatively from Mohegan-Pequot p'quaghhaug (“hard clam”)or another Algonquian language.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkəʊ.hɒɡ/,[1][2] /ˈkwəʊ.hɒɡ/,[2] /ˈkwɑː.hɒɡ/[2]
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkwɔ.hɔɡ/,[1][3][4] /ˈkwɔ.hɑɡ/;[1][3][4] /ˈkwɑ.hɔɡ/,[3] /ˈkwɑ.hɑɡ/[3]
- also, especially as quohog:[5] /ˈkwoʊ.hɔɡ/,[1][3][4] /ˈkwoʊ.hɑɡ/,[1][3][4]
- also, especially as cohog:[5] /ˈkoʊ.hɔɡ/,[1][3][4] /ˈkoʊ.hɑɡ/,[1][3][4]
- also: /kwəˈhɔɡ/,[1][6] /kwə.ˈhɑɡ/[1][6]
Audio (GA) /ˈkoʊ.hɑg/ (file) - Hyphenation: qua‧hog
Noun
quahog (plural quahogs)
- An edible clam with a hard shell found along the Atlantic Coast of North America, from species Mercenaria mercenaria, formerly Venus mercenaria.
- The largest size of such an edible clam, generally considered only fit for use in chowders and other clam dishes.
- A similar edible clam found along coasts around the North Atlantic, generally in deeper waters, the ocean quahog, black quahog, mahogany clam or Icelandic cyprine, Arctica islandica
Alternative forms
- quahaug (slightly more common until the 1950s, now uncommon)
- quohog (regional US; uncommon nationally)
- cohog (regional US; uncommon nationally)
Synonyms
- (Mercenaria mercenaria): hard clam, chowder clam, round clam; count neck (smallest), littleneck (small), cherrystone (smaller medium), topneck (larger medium)
- (largest size of quahog): chowder clam
Verb
quahog (third-person singular simple present quahogs, present participle quahogging, simple past and past participle quahogged)
- (intransitive) To dig for quahogs.
References
- “quahog” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- “quahog” in the Collins English Dictionary, Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers.
- “quahog” in Michael Agnes, editor-in-chief, Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4th edition, Cleveland, Oh.: Wiley, 2010, →ISBN; reproduced on the Collins English Dictionary, Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers.
- “quahog” in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary.
- Linguistic Atlas of New England (1939)
- The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1914: "quahog"
Further reading
- quahog at OneLook Dictionary Search