What does peag mean?
Peag is a chiefly Scots and northern English word for a pea. It can refer both to the small edible seed of the pea plant and, less commonly, to the plant itself. In ordinary modern English, the standard spelling "pea" is normally used, so "peag" tends to appear in regional writing, dialogue intended to sound Scottish or northern English, or older literature. As a food, peas are green legumes commonly eaten fresh, frozen, or dried, and the regional term can be used in that familiar context without implying anything unusual about the seed. The word is also encountered in gardening, where it identifies the cultivated plant that produces pods containing peas. Although its distribution is mainly northern, it is not limited to a single city or county, and its use should be understood as a broad regional variant rather than as a highly specialized technical term.
nounA pea, especially the pea plant or its seed. The word is chiefly a Scots and northern English form of the standard English word "pea."
- The seed of the pea plant, used as food.
- The pea plant itself.
"The children planted a row of peag in the garden."
"She simmered the peag with mint and a little butter."
"The peag had grown tall enough to climb the fence."
Used in the plural when referring to several peas or, less commonly, several pea plants.
"The farmer gathered peags from the rows before the storm arrived."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of peag
Peag is a Scots and northern English variant of "pea." The standard word "pea" entered Middle English from Old English pæġ, a term ultimately borrowed from Latin pis, meaning "pea." The Scots form reflects the development of the word in northern varieties of English.
How peag is actually used
Chiefly used in Scots and northern English speech and writing. Outside these regional contexts it may sound archaic, literary, or deliberately dialectal.