PIGLET

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does piglet mean? 

• PIGLET (noun)
  The noun PIGLET has 1 sense:

1. a young pig

  Familiarity information: PIGLET used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PIGLET (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A young pig

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

piggy; piglet; shoat; shote

Hypernyms ("piglet" is a kind of...):

young mammal (any immature mammal)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "piglet"):

sucking pig (an unweaned piglet)

Holonyms ("piglet" is a member of...):

genus Sus; Sus (type genus of the Suidae)

Derivation:

pig (domestic swine)

 Context examples 

Glutamine-fed piglets gained weight as well as the antibiotic group but showed fewer signs of intestinal damage from pathogens.

(Antibiotic Alternative Scores Well in Second Round of Swine Trials, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Combining gene editing technique called CRISPR with cloning, Harvard scientists created piglets that do not harbor viruses harmful to humans.

(Scientist Move Closer to Pig-human Organ Transplants, VOA)

Initial laboratory studies in 2017 showed glutamine-fed piglets gained just as much weight as antibiotic-treated ones, among other health benefits.

(Antibiotic Alternative Scores Well in Second Round of Swine Trials, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Now, instead of using dietary antibiotics to help the piglets cope and avoid illness, scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are investigating a naturally occurring amino acid known as L-glutamine.

(Antibiotic Alternative Scores Well in Second Round of Swine Trials, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

For the nursery phase of the study, one group of piglets was fed a diet containing the antibiotic chlortetracycline, another glutamine and a third group—used as experimental controls—nothing but feed ingredients.

(Antibiotic Alternative Scores Well in Second Round of Swine Trials, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

The stress of travel also extends to piglets, such as when they’re weaned from their mothers and transported to nursery barns.

(Antibiotic Alternative Scores Well in Second Round of Swine Trials, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

In the larger-scale trials, groups of piglets were transported to a nursery barn located 12 hours from where they were weaned to simulate the kinds of stress they’d experience commercially, which can diminish the young animals’ immune system function, appetite and weight gain—something antibiotics helped them recover from.

(Antibiotic Alternative Scores Well in Second Round of Swine Trials, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Compared to the control group, glutamine- and antibiotic-treated piglets showed lower blood plasma levels of tumornecrosisfactoralpha, a biochemical marker of inflammation and immune system activity that can use energy and divert it from the animals’ growth needs.

(Antibiotic Alternative Scores Well in Second Round of Swine Trials, U.S. Department of Agriculture)