spigot
spigot
Pronunciation
The word spigot is a common term, though its usage can vary slightly depending on whether you’re fixing a sink in the suburbs or tapping a barrel in a cellar.
Phonetic Spelling
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for spigot is: /ˈspɪɡət/
Syllable Breakdown
Syllable 1: /spɪɡ/
/s/: Voiceless alveolar sibilant (like the 's' in "sun").
/p/: Voiceless bilabial plosive (the 'p' in "spin").
/ɪ/: Near-close near-front unrounded vowel (the 'i' in "pig").
/ɡ/: Voiced velar plosive (the 'g' in "go").
Syllable 2: /ət/
/ə/: Schwa; a mid-central neutral vowel (the 'a' in "about").
/t/: Voiceless alveolar plosive (the 't' in "top").
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: spigot
Plural Noun: spigots
Note: While "spigot" is almost exclusively used as a noun, it is occasionally used as a noun adjunct (e.g., "spigot handle"). It does not have standard verb or adjective forms.
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A device or mechanism used to control the flow of liquid from a large container, pipe, or barrel; specifically, the plug or valve part of a faucet.
The end of a pipe that is inserted into the enlarged end (the socket) of another pipe to form a joint.
Synonyms: faucet, tap, valve, nozzle, bung, stopcock.
Antonyms: drain, intake, plug (in the sense of a permanent seal rather than a control valve).
Examples of Use
Here are several examples of the word spigot used in various real-world and representative contexts:
Literature and Books
"He turned the spigot and a stream of rusty water erupted into the basin, coughing and sputtering before settling into a steady flow." (Cormac McCarthy, The Road)
"The heavy barrels were lined up against the stone wall, each fitted with a wooden spigot that smelled of fermented apples and damp oak." (Ken Follett, The Pillars of the Earth)
Journalism and News
"City officials warned that if the drought continues, they may be forced to turn off the spigot of federal water subsidies that local farmers have relied on for decades." (The New York Times, June 2021)
"The infrastructure bill aims to repair thousands of miles of aging pipelines, focusing on the points of failure where the spigot meets the main line." (The Washington Post, November 2021)
Online Publications and Digital Media
"Before winter's first freeze, homeowners should disconnect hoses from every outdoor spigot to prevent pipes from bursting inside the walls." (Family Handyman, October 2023)
"Investors are concerned that the Federal Reserve is finally tightening the spigot on easy credit, which could lead to a cooling of the tech sector." (Bloomberg, January 2024)
Entertainment and Platforms
Film/TV: In a tense scene from a survival thriller, a character desperately sucks a few remaining drops of moisture from a dry spigot in an abandoned desert outpost.
Social Media/Forums: "Does anyone know how to fix a stripped thread on a garden spigot? I’ve tried Teflon tape but it’s still spraying everywhere whenever I turn the pressure up." (Reddit r/HomeImprovement)
General Public Discourse
"We can't just keep throwing money at the problem without a plan; it’s time to turn off the spigot of department overspending."
"The plumber said the leak isn't in the wall; it’s just a worn-out washer inside the spigot handle."
10 Quotes Using Spigot
"Never discuss the poem you contemplate writing; it’s like turning on the outside spigot, it takes all the pressure off the upstairs bathroom." (Robert Frost)
"In the end, arguing about affirmative action in selective colleges is like arguing about the size of a spigot while ignoring the pool and the pipeline that feed it." (Eric Liu)
"The news media increasingly help provide the materials for the informational citizen, but they often ask unreasonably that 'art' or 'truth' flow from the media spigot." (Michael Schudson, The Power of News)
"It was as if their language poured into my ears only to drain right out a little spigot in the back of my head." (Reif Larsen, The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet)
"The spigot where rapidly propagating unicorns—indirectly birthed by the governmental printing press—roamed the forests has been turned off." (Bruce Stachenfeld)
"The Federal Reserve just won’t be able to act quickly enough to turn off the spigot when the time comes to do so." (The New York Times)
"The money spigot was now wide open." (Bill Moyers)
"To prevent prisons from being overfilled with low-level offenders... states should turn off the spigot by reforming the laws that impose lengthy, mandatory sentences." (Stewart Greenleaf)
"It's cause you turned on the bigot spigot to full gush!" (Succession, HBO)
"A billionaire can't get cut off, but at the moment, my billionaire's money spigot is in the off position." (Mixerman, The Billionheir Apparent)
Etymology
The word spigot has a history rooted in the simple mechanics of storing and pouring liquids, likely originating from Middle English and older European dialects.
The Origins
The term first appeared in English around the late 14th century. It is believed to stem from the Middle English word spigot or spigot-faucet, which may have roots in the Provençal or Old French word espigot (meaning a "small ear of grain" or "stop").
Further back, the etymology likely traces to the Latin word spica, meaning "ear of grain" or "spike." This connection exists because early plugs or stoppers were often tapered or pointed, resembling a spike or a stalk of grain.
First Known Use and Meaning
When the word first entered common usage in the late 1300s, it specifically referred to a wooden peg or pin used to plug a small hole in a cask or barrel.
The Original Mechanism: To get liquid out of a barrel, you would have a "faucet" (the spout) and a "spigot" (the peg). To pour a drink, you would pull out the spigot to let air in or liquid out, then jam it back in to stop the flow.
The Evolution: Over time, the distinction between the "plug" and the "tap" blurred. By the 18th and 19th centuries, "spigot" began to describe the entire valve assembly we recognize today in plumbing.
Simplified Breakdown
Latin (Spica): "Spike" or "Ear of grain."
Old French/Provencal (Espigot): A small, pointed stopper.
Middle English (Spigot): A wooden peg for a barrel.
Modern English: A faucet or outdoor water tap.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Spigot
While spigot is often used literally, it frequently appears in figurative language to describe the control of resources, money, or information.
Turn off the spigot: To abruptly stop the flow of something, usually money, funding, or aid.
Open the spigot: To suddenly allow a large amount of a resource to flow or be spent.
A leaky spigot: Used to describe a person or system that consistently loses small amounts of a resource (like data or cash) through negligence.
The bigot spigot: A modern, rhyming slang term for someone who won't stop venting prejudiced or hateful views.
Tapping the spigot: To begin drawing from a source of wealth or information that was previously untouched.
Keep a hand on the spigot: To maintain strict control over how much of a resource is being released at any given time.
Draining the cask through the spigot: An idiom for a slow but steady depletion of resources.
A wide-open tap: (Synonym idiom) To act without any restraint or conservation.
To plug the vent: (Synonym idiom) To stop the flow of information or gossip.
Blood from a stone spigot: An original variation of "blood from a stone," referring to trying to get a resource from a source that is completely dry or unyielding.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of spigot from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
