Definition

Noun: 1. A very young, unweaned piglet: Specifically refers to a pig that is still nursing from its mother and has not yet been transitioned to solid food. The term often implies the piglet is young enough to be cooked and served whole.

Usage Examples

• The farmer brought the sucking pig to the fair for the livestock competition.
• The traditional recipe calls for a sucking pig roasted over an open fire.
• We saw a litter of sucking pigs with the sow in the pen.

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in a culinary context to describe a specific dish or preparation method, highlighting the tenderness of the meat from such a young animal.
  • The banquet's centerpiece was a perfectly roasted sucking pig.

Variants and Related Words

• Suckling pig: This is a more common variant with identical meaning. "Sucking pig" and "suckling pig" are often used interchangeably.
  • The menu featured suckling pig with apple sauce.

Synonyms

• Piglet
• Suckling pig
• Unweaned pig

Notes on Meaning

• The primary meaning is zootechnical, denoting a very young pig based on its developmental stage (unweaned).
• The secondary, common meaning is gastronomic, referring to the young pig prepared as food. This dual meaning is central to the word's usage.

Noun

1. an unweaned piglet