What were pygg jars?

krzys44

Jars, where people used to keep money. Jars made of pygg http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1542/whats-the-origin-of-the-piggy-bank Oct 07 08, 4:53 AM

runaway_drive

Pygg is a type of orange clay, once widely used for making pottery in the form of jars, cookware and other household items because it was economical. A piggy bank was originally a "pygg jar". Later, the word "pygg" became less common, and its sound was reinterpreted as "pig"; only then did piggy banks actually begin to be made in the shape of a pig. The original pronunciation of "pygg" was probably closer to "pug", but over time the pronunciation changed due to the Great Vowel Shift and became a homonym of "pig". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygg [All text added -- Zb] Oct 07 08, 5:38 AM