higgledy-piggledy · adjective, adverb, noun1
- Welsh · borrowed fromhogldy
- English todayhiggledy-piggledy
A reduplicated rhyming compound. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests a possible link to pig, since the animals huddle in irregular groups, but notes that the connection is uncertain. First use appears c. 1598. The first part of the old alternative form, hoggledy-piggledy, may derive from the archaic Welsh hogldy, a hovel.
higgledy-piggledy · noun2
Self-reference to the form of the word higgledy-piggledy.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.