plug

See also: pług

English

Etymology

From Dutch plug, from Middle Dutch plugge (“peg, plug”), from Old Dutch *pluggi, from Proto-West Germanic *plugi. Further origin unknown. Possibly from Proto-Germanic *plugjaz, but the word seems originally restricted to northern continental West Germanic. Perhaps ultimately from the same source as Dutch plag (“cut-out sod”), itself considered to be from a substrate.

Compare German Low German Plüg, Norwegian plug (“peg, wedge”, probably borrowed from Middle Low German), German Pflock (“peg”, restricted to Central German and phonetically divergent). Possibly akin to Lithuanian plúkti (“to strike, hew”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: plŭg, IPA^(key): /plʌɡ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌɡ

Noun

An electrical plug

Some fishing plugs

plug (plural plugs)

2. (electricity) A pronged connecting device which fits into a mating socket, especially an electrical one.

   I pushed the plug back into the electrical socket and the lamp began to glow again.

   1. (loosely) An electric socket: wall plug.
3. Any piece of wood, metal, or other substance used to stop or fill a hole.

   Synonyms: bung, dowel, stopper, stopple

   Pull the plug out of the tub so it can drain.

4. (US) A flat oblong cake of pressed tobacco.

   He preferred a plug of tobacco to loose chaw.

5. (US, slang) A high, tapering silk hat.
6. (US, slang) A worthless horse.

   Synonyms: (racing) bum, dobbin, hack, jade, nag

   That sorry old plug is ready for the glue factory!

7. (dated) Any worn-out or useless article.
8. (dated, slang) A book that fails to sell.
   • 1886, The Publishers Weekly, volume 29, page 25:

     Stack all new and fresh, composed of the fast-selling standard books only — no old plugs or unsalable books whatever.

   • 1997, The Book Collector, volume 46, page 184:

     Many New York booksellers promoted the impression that Quaritch had sent only 'plugs' (i.e. unsaleable books).

9. (construction) A block of wood let into a wall to afford a hold for nails.
10. (slang) A promotion (act of promoting) of a product (such as a book, film or play) or other thing, concept, etc, for example during an interview or a commercial.
    • 1973 December 8, A. Nolder Gay, “Coping With Christmas”, in Gay Community News, volume 1, number 25, page 3:

      Department store decorations up before Thanksgiving, Christmas cards all over the place, TV full of plugs for fifty-dollar toys that inner-city kids watching can never expect to receive, parents spending what they can't afford and deluging their kids with the annual orgy of materialist values […]

    During the interview, the author put in a plug for his latest novel.

    She used her televised tour of the zoo to work in another plug for conservation.

11. (geology) A body of once molten rock that hardened in a volcanic vent. Usually round or oval in shape.

    Pressure built beneath the plug in the caldera, eventually resulting in a catastrophic explosion of pyroclastic shrapnel and ash.

12. (fishing) A type of lure consisting of a rigid, buoyant or semi-buoyant body and one or more hooks.

    The fisherman cast the plug into a likely pool, hoping to catch a whopper.

13. (horticulture) A small seedling grown in a tray from expanded polystyrene or polythene filled usually with a peat or compost substrate.
14. (jewelry) A short cylindrical piece of jewellery commonly worn in larger-gauge body piercings, especially in the ear.

    Synonym: earspool

    Hyponym: earflare (Ancient Maya)

15. (slang) A drug dealer.
    • 2017, Gucci Mane, Neil Martinez-Belkin, The Autobiography of Gucci Mane, page 32:

      He saw me catch a trap and leave the house of a drug dealer. That's why he targeted me. He could have easily blown my ass off right then and there for lying, but for some reason he didn't. He just left. I biked back to my plug's spot and told him […]

16. A branch from a water-pipe to supply a hose.
17. (aviation) A standard, modular fuselage component that can be added or removed.
    • 2010, Ajoy Kumar Kundu, Aircraft Design, page 165:

      Add front and aft closures to the fuselage midsection. Addition or subtraction of fuselage plugs, to a maximum of five rows, conveniently distributed on each side of wing, is possible.

18. Short for fireplug (“fire hydrant”).

Derived terms

• banana plug
• bathplug
• breech plug
• bridge plug
• butt-plug
• butt plug
• carom plug
• chair plug
• core plug
• door plug
• drain plug
• epithelial plug
• fireplug
• fuse plug
• glow plug
• hair plug
• hawse-plug
• hawse plug
• jack plug
• lip plug
• mud plug
• not worth a plug nickel
• plug and feather
• plug bayonet
• plugboard
• plug centerbit
• plug cut
• plug door
• plug hat
• plughole
• plug nickel
• plug rod
• plug tap
• plug-ugly
• plug valve
• pulling the plug
• pull the plug
• punctal plug
• put the plug in the jug
• rawl plug
• safety plug
• scupper plug
• smart plug
• sparking plug
• spark plug
• tail plug
• wall plug
• washout plug
• welch plug
• yolk plug

 

Descendants

• → Gulf Arabic: بلاك (blāk)
• → Burmese: ပလတ် (pa.lat)
• → Japanese: プラグ (puragu)

Translations

electric connecting device

• Albanian: fishë f, spinë (sq) f
• Arabic: قَابِس (ar) m (qābis), فِيشَة (ar) f (fīša)

  Moroccan Arabic: فيش (fiš)

• Armenian: խրոցակ (xrocʻak), շտեպսել (hy) (štepsel) (colloquial)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܲܡܛܝܵܢܵܐ m (mamṭyānā)
• Azerbaijani: ştepsel
• Basque: entxufe
• Belarusian: штэ́псель m (štépsjelʹ), штэ́кер m (štékjer), ві́лка f (vílka)
• Bulgarian: ще́псел m (štépsel), ще́кер m (štéker)
• Burmese: ပလတ် (my) (pa.lat)
• Catalan: clavilla (ca) f, endoll (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 插頭／插头 (caap³ tau^4-2), 插蘇頭／插苏头 (caap³ sou¹ tau^4-2), 插蘇／插苏 (caap³ sou¹)

  Mandarin: 插頭／插头 (zh) (chātóu)

• Czech: zástrčka (cs) f
• Danish: stikprop (da)
• Dutch: stekker (nl) m
• Esperanto: kontaktilo (eo)
• Estonian: pistik, stepsel
• Finnish: pistoke (fi), pistotulppa (fi), töpseli (fi) (colloquial)
• French: fiche (fr) f
• Georgian: შტეფსელი (šṭepseli)
• German: Stecker (de) m
• Greek: φις (el) n (fis)
• Hebrew: תֶּקַע (he) m (téka')
• Hungarian: csatlakozó (hu), dugó (hu)
• Icelandic: kló f, rafmagnskló f
• Indonesian: steker (id)
• Irish: plocóid f
• Italian: spina (it) f
• Japanese: プラグ (ja) (puragu)
• Kazakh: штепсель (ştepsel), аша (kk) (aşa), сүңгіме (süñgıme)
• Khmer: ព្រីកួរ៉ង់ (prii kuərɑŋ), ប្រដាប់ស៊ក (prɑdap sɔɔk)
• Korean: 플러그 (peulleogeu)
• Kyrgyz: штепсель (ky) (ştepsel), штекер (şteker)
• Lao: ຫົວສຽບໄຟຟ້າ (hūasīapfai fā)
• Latvian: spraudnis m
• Lithuanian: kištukas m, štepselis m
• Macedonian: штекер m (šteker), утикач m (utikač)
• Malay: palam (ms)
• Mongolian: цахилгааны залгуур (caxilgaany zalguur)
• Norwegian: plugg (no) m (signal), støpsel (no) n (power)
• Persian: فیش (fa) (fiš), دوشاخه (fa) (do-šâxe)
• Polish: wtyczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: plugue (pt) m
• Romanian: fișă (de contact) (ro) f, ștecăr (ro) n, pin (de contact) (ro) m
• Russian: ште́псельная ви́лка f (štɛ́pselʹnaja vílka), ште́псель (ru) m (štɛ́pselʹ), ви́лка (ru) f (vílka), ште́кер (ru) m (štɛ́ker)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: утѝка̄ч m, ште̏кер m

  Roman: utìkāč (sh) m, štȅker (sh) m

• Slovak: zástrčka f
• Slovene: vtikač (sl) m
• Spanish: clavija (es) m, plug m (Cuba), plag m (United States), plog m (United States), ploga f (United States)
• Swahili: plagi (sw)
• Swedish: elkontakt, kontakt (sv), stickkontakt (sv), stickpropp (sv)
• Tajik: штепсел (štepsel), вилка (tg) (vilka)
• Thai: ปลั๊ก (th) (bplák), เต้าเสียบ (dtâo-sìiap)
• Turkish: fiş (tr)
• Turkmen: ştepsel
• Ukrainian: ште́псель m (štépselʹ), ште́кер m (štéker), ви́лка f (výlka)
• Uzbek: shtepsel (uz), shteker, vilka (uz)
• Vietnamese: phích (vi), đầu cắm, đầu cắm điện
• Walloon: fitche (wa) f
• Welsh: plwg (cy) m

hole filler

• Arabic: بُوجِيه m (būjīh), دِسَام m (disām), سِدَاد m (sidād), سِدَادَة f (sidāda), سِطَام m (siṭām), صِمّة f (ṣimma), فِدَام m (fidām)
• Bulgarian: тапа (bg) f (tapa), запушалка (bg) f (zapušalka)
• Burmese: အဆို့ (my) (a.hcui.)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 塞子 (zh) (sāizi)

• Dutch: stop (nl) m (solid, shaped plug), prop (nl) f or m (plug of paper, cloth, etc.)
• Esperanto: ŝtopilo
• Finnish: tulppa (fi)
• French: bouchon (fr) m
• German: Stöpsel (de) m, Stopfen (de) m, Pfropfen (de) m, Pfropf (de) m, Spund (de) m, Zapfen (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: βύσμα n (búsma), ἴβδης m (íbdēs)

• Hungarian: dugó (hu), tömítés (hu)
• Indonesian: sumbat (id)
• Ingrian: tulppa, probka
• Italian: tappo (it) m
• Japanese: 栓 (ja) (sen)
• Korean: 마개 (ko) (magae)
• Latvian: aizbāznis m
• Maori: kāremu, puru
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: plugg (no) m, propp m

  Nynorsk: plugg m, propp m

• Ottoman Turkish: مانطار (mantar)
• Plautdietsch: Propsel n
• Polish: zatyczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: tampão (pt) m
• Russian: про́бка (ru) f (próbka), заты́чка (ru) f (zatýčka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: че̏п m, запу̀ша̄ч m

  Roman: čȅp (sh) m, zapùšāč (sh) m

• Sicilian: stuppagghiu m
• Spanish: tapón m
• Swahili: kizibo class ki/vi
• Swedish: propp (sv) c, plugg (sv) c
• Tagalog: sumpal
• Turkish: tıkaç (tr)
• Walloon: boutchon (wa) m
• Welsh: plwg (cy) m, topyn (cy) m

hold for nails

• Bulgarian: трупче n (trupče)
• Dutch: plug (nl) m
• Finnish: tulppa (fi)
• German: Dübelholz n, Dübel (de) m, Holzdübel (de) m

Verb

plug (third-person singular simple present plugs, present participle plugging, simple past and past participle plugged)

1. (transitive) To stop with a plug; to make tight by stopping a hole.

   He attempted to plug the leaks with some caulk.

2. (transitive) To promote (something, especially a product or service); to mention (something) as if promoting or advertising it.

   The main guest on the show just kept plugging his latest movie: it got so tiresome.

   Kennedy went on nationwide speaking tour to plug environmental conservation.

   • 2019 January 26, Kitty Empire [pseudonym], “The Streets review – the agony and ecstasy of a great everyman”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 8 April 2019:

     He [Mike Skinner] treats the gig as an opportunity repeatedly to plug the after-party, where he will be DJing.

3. (intransitive, informal) To persist or continue with something.

   Keep plugging at the problem until you find a solution.

4. (transitive, slang) To shoot (someone) with a bullet.
   • 1884, H. Rider Haggard, The Witch's Head

     I am awfully glad that you kept your nerve and plugged him; it would have been better if you could have nailed him through the right shoulder, which would not have killed him...

5. (transitive, slang) To have sex with; to penetrate sexually.

   I’d love to plug him with my strap-on.

6. (transitive, slang) To ingest a drug rectally.

   Synonym: boof

Synonyms

• (persist): keep up, soldier on; see also Thesaurus:persevere
• (shoot a bullet): bust a cap, pop, ventilate
• (have sex with): drill, pound, sleep with; see also Thesaurus:copulate with

Derived terms

• plug and chug
• plug and play
• plug and pray
• plug away
• plug in
• plug into
• plug out
• plug the runner
• plug up
• unplug

 

Translations

to stop with a plug

• Aromanian: astup
• Bulgarian: запушвам (bg) (zapušvam)
• Finnish: tukkia (fi), sulkea (fi)
• French: boucher (fr), fermer (fr), bourrer (fr)
• Galician: arrollar (gl), tapar (gl)
• Greek:

  Ancient: φράσσω (phrássō)

• Latin: obtūrō
• Maori: puru, whakapuru
• Ottoman Turkish: مانطارلامق (mantarlamak)
• Paicî: tärî
• Romanian: astupa (ro), închide (ro), băga (un dop, o fișă, etc.) (ro)
• Russian: затыка́ть (ru) impf (zatykátʹ), заткну́ть (ru) pf (zatknútʹ); заку́поривать (ru) impf (zakúporivatʹ), заку́порить (ru) pf (zakúporitʹ)
• Spanish: tapar (es), taponar (es)
• Welsh: plygio, cau (cy), stopio (cy)

to blatantly mention

• Finnish: kehuskella (fi), kehua (fi), puffata (slang)
• French: faire la pub, faire la promo
• German: Schleichwerbung machen
• Irish: bolscaireacht a dhéanamh
• Spanish: promocionar (es)
• Welsh: gwthio (cy), hybu (cy)

to persist or continue with something

• Finnish: työstää (fi)
• Welsh: dal ati, dyfalbarhau (cy)

to shoot a bullet into something

• Bulgarian: застрелвам (bg) (zastrelvam)
• Finnish: tärskäyttää

slang: to have sex with

• Bulgarian: чукам (bg) (čukam)
• Finnish: tuikata (fi)

Anagrams

• gulp

Albanian

Alternative forms

• pllug

Etymology

From a South Slavic language, from Proto-Slavic *plugъ (“plough”), itself of Germanic origin, derived from Proto-West Germanic *plōg (“plough”).

Compare Serbo-Croatian плуг, Bulgarian плуг (plug), and English plough. Replaced parmendë in most dialects, which came to mean “wooden plough”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pluɡ/

Noun

plug m (plural plugje, definite plugu, definite plural plugjet)

1. steel plough
2. an instance of tilling

Declension

Declension of plug

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	plug	plugu	plugje	plugjet
accusative		plugun
dative	plugu	plugut	plugjeve	plugjeve
ablative			plugjesh

Synonyms

• parmendë

Derived terms

• plugoj, plugim

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• plugu

Etymology

From a Slavic language, compare Proto-Slavic *plugъ, borrowed from Proto-Germanic *plōgaz, *plōguz (“plough”). Compare also Daco-Romanian plug.

Noun

plug n (plural pluguri)

1. plough

   Synonyms: aratru, aletrã, dãmãljiugu, paramendã

Derived terms

• plugar
• plugãrii

 

Dutch

Etymology

From early modern plugge, from Middle Dutch *plugge, from Old Dutch *pluggi, from Proto-Germanic *plugjaz, of uncertain ultimate origin, but perhaps from the same source as plag (“cut-out sod”), itself considered to be from a substrate.

Despite being attested only very late, it has certain cognates in several other Germanic languages, including Middle Low German plugge, Middle High German plugge, Swedish plugg.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plʏx/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: plug
• Rhymes: -ʏx

Noun

plug m (plural pluggen, diminutive plugje n)

1. wall plug (used to hold nails and screws)

Derived terms

• oorplug

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English plug.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plœɡ/

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

Noun

plug m (plural plugs)

1. butt-plug

Istro-Romanian

Etymology

From a Slavic language, compare Proto-Slavic *plugъ, itself of Germanic origin.

Noun

plug n (plural plugur, definite singular plugu, definite plural plugurle)

1. plough

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic плоугъ (plugŭ), from Proto-Slavic *plugъ, itself of Germanic origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [pluɡ]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

plug n (plural pluguri)

1. plough

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	plug	plugul		pluguri	plugurile
genitive-dative	plug	plugului		pluguri	plugurilor
vocative	plugule			plugurilor

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *plugъ, itself of Germanic origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plûɡ/

Noun

plȕg m (Cyrillic spelling плу̏г)

1. plough

Declension

Declension of plug

	singular	plural
nominative	plȕg	plùgovi
genitive	pluga	plugova
dative	plugu	plugovima
accusative	plug	plugove
vocative	plugu / pluže	plugove
locative	plugu	plugovima
instrumental	plugom	plugovima

Descendants

• → Ottoman Turkish: پلوغ (pulluğ), փիւլուղ (püluğ) — Armeno-Turkish
  • Turkish: pulluk

Further reading

• “plug”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *plugъ, itself of Germanic origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plúːk/, /plúk/

Noun

plȗg or plȕg m inan

1. plough (device pulled through the ground in order to break it upon into furrows for planting)

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	plúg
gen. sing.	plúga
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	plúg	plúga	plúgi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	plúga	plúgov	plúgov
dative (dajȃlnik)	plúgu	plúgoma	plúgom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	plúg	plúga	plúge
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	plúgu	plúgih	plúgih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	plúgom	plúgoma	plúgi

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	plùg
gen. sing.	plúga
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	plùg	plúga	plúgi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	plúga	plúgov	plúgov
dative (dajȃlnik)	plúgu	plúgoma	plúgom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	plùg	plúga	plúge
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	plúgu	plúgih	plúgih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	plúgom	plúgoma	plúgi

Further reading

• “plug”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “plug”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references