Hampshire
(ˈhæmpʃə(r))
a. The name of a county in the south of England, used (chiefly attrib.) to designate a breed of sheep; also Hampshire Down; also designating a breed of pig.
| a 1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Hants. 2 Hantshire Hoggs, are allowed by all for the best Bacon. 1813 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Hampshire 371 The..common Hampshire ewe will cost from 25s. to 40s. each. 1825 Loudon Encycl. Agric. 1123/2 The heath sheep, old Hampshire, or Wilts breeds. 1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 392/2 These sheep are now usually classed as Sussex Downs and Hampshire Downs, the former being the most refined type of the class.., and the latter..having a heavier fleece, stronger bone, and somewhat coarser and larger frame. Ibid. 400/2 The Berkshire and Hampshire hog seems originally to have been from the same stock, but by some early cross acquired the thicker carcase, prick-ears, shorter limbs, and earlier maturity of growth, by which they are characterised. 1886 C. Scott Sheep-farming 12 The Hampshire Down, though a larger sheep than the Southdown, does not mature so early. 1957 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 920/1 The Hampshire breed [of pig] originated in England and was later introduced into the United States... Hampshires possess good growing and fattening qualities. 1962 J. N. Winburne Dict. Agric. 361/1 Hampshire swine, an American, lard-type breed of black, white-belted swine. 1971 Farmers Weekly 19 Mar. 77/4 It was a risky step to take from the viewpoint of..Hampshire Down enthusiasts. |
b. Hampshire hog: a colloq. or derogatory term for a native of Hampshire; also, a dish of boiled bacon and vegetables.
| [1622 Drayton Polyolbion ii. xxiii. 70 As Hamshire long for her, hath had the tearme of Hogs.] c 1720 Vade Mecum for Malt-Worms i. 50 Now to the Sign of Fish let's jog, There to find out a Hampshire Hog. 1861 C. M. Yonge Stokesley Secret i. 9 ‘You could not be more right if you were a Hampshire hog,’ said Sam. 1937 J. Rayner Shell Guide to Hampshire 26/1 Hampshire Hog. You boil 4 to 5 lb. of bacon..in an iron saucepan, keep the extracted bacon hot on the hob, and put..cabbages.. into the water... You can put potatoes in as well. Ibid. 30 There are three sorts of Hampshire hog, and they have given the county the subsidiary name of Hoglandia. One, the inhabitant of the county. Two, the less domestic animal from whose frequency the inhabitant gets his name... And three, the dish. 1944 in A. Wykes Royal Hampshire Regiment (1968) v. 104, I reckon us little lot of Hampshire Hogs have done well for his nibs Adolf in this invasion. 1963 C. Mackenzie My Life & Times II. 169 She was a Dorset woman, and both she and her husband had a profound contempt for what they called the Hampshire hogs with whom they were condemned to live. |
c. pl. The Royal Hampshire Regiment.
| 1904 Westm. Gaz. 14 June 8/2 The Hampshires, who mustered ten officers and 484 men. 1968 A. Wykes Royal Hampshire Regiment v. 107 The Hampshires, with..the Dorsets and Devons, were the three battalions of infantry forming one of the spearheads that was to land on the Arromanches beach. |