Etymograph

English

hog chain

From hog + chain.

A compound of hog + chain

Middle English hog ‘a pig or swine, especially one that is…’

English hog

Proto-Italic *katesnā

Latin catēna ‘chain’

Old French chaeine ‘chain’

Middle English cheyne ‘a chain’

English chain

The story

First use appears c. 1841 in the Missouri Republican.

Today it means

noun A chain or a tie rod passing from the bow of a vessel to its stern, used in a ship in order to prevent hogging.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / hog chain