It was used for making all kinds of household objects, including things for storing money.

Going way, way back, there was a word in English, “pygg,” which referred to a certain clay. Clytemnestra was originally said “Klootahmnayster”, but the sound evolved over time, passing through “uh” to short “i” to the two variants of long “i”: the “ee” sound we see in “slowly,” and the “eye” sound we see in “electrolyte.” Go way, way, back, “y” was the Greek “u”, and pronounced as such. “Meat” used to be pronounced more like “mate.” Make the sounds, and you’ll see how most older pronunciations were formed further back in the mouth. We are about to see the unbroken chain from pigs to lumber.įirst thing we gotta cover is the Great Vowel Shift, which occurred in English back betweeen Chaucer and Shakespeare, when sounds began moving forward in the mouth. Hang on, ’cause this is a long, bumpy ride through WordLand. Dear Straight Dope: What is the history of the piggy bank? Why isn’t it a doggy bank or cat bank? Danny Baylus