Etymology

hogwash

H4O1G2W4A1S1H4

Today it means: Foolish talk or writing; nonsense. Full definition →

First used mid 15th c.Middle English *hoggewasch
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited from*hoggewasch
  2. English todayhogwash

From Middle English *hoggewasch (found only as Middle English hoggyswasch (“refuse of the kitchen for feeding pigs”, literally “hog's wash”)), equivalent to hog + wash.

First known use, by meaning

  • from mid 15th c. A mixture of solid and liquid food scraps fed to pigs; swill.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.