Meanings
plural quahogs · alternative quahaug · alternative quohog · alternative cohog
- An edible clam with a hard shell found along the Atlantic Coast of North America, from species Mercenaria mercenaria, formerly Venus mercenaria.
Synonyms: hard clam, round clam, Mercenaria mercenaria
- The largest size of such an edible clam, generally considered only fit for use in chowders and other clam dishes.
Synonyms: hard clam, round clam, Mercenaria mercenaria, chowder clam
- A similar edible clam, of species Arctica islandica, found along coasts around the North Atlantic, generally in deeper waters.
Synonyms: ocean quahog, black quahog, mahogany clam, Icelandic cyprine
present singular third person quahogs · participle present quahogging · participle past quahogged · past quahogged
- intransitiveTo dig for quahogs.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn edible clam with a hard shell found along the Atlantic Coast of North America, from species Mercenaria mercenaria, formerly Venus mercenaria.
nounThe largest size of such an edible clam, generally considered only fit for use in chowders and other clam dishes.
nounA similar edible clam, of species Arctica islandica, found along coasts around the North Atlantic, generally in deeper waters.
More synonyms by meaning
nounAtlantic coast round clams with hard shells; large clams usually used for chowders or other clam dishes
nounan edible American clam; the heavy shells were used as money by some American Indians
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Mohegan-Pequotp'quaghhaug“hard clam”
- Narragansettpoquaûhock“hard clam”
- Englishquahog
Most often thought to be from Narragansett poquaûhock (“hard clam”), or perhaps from pohkeni (“dark”) + hogki (“shell”). Alternatively from Mohegan-Pequot p'quaghhaug (“hard clam”) or another Algonquian language.
More words from Narragansett, Mohegan-Pequot
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish islanninsimpukka, kampavenussimpukka
- islanninsimpukkaArctica islandica
- kampavenussimpukkaMercenaria mercenaria
Cite this entry
quahog. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quahog
“quahog.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quahog. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quahog,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quahog.
Source: quahog on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.