boneen

An Irish term of endearment for a piglet — a small, young pig — carrying the softened, affectionate quality typical of Irish diminutives. The word has a rural, folkloric feel rooted in Irish agricultural life, where pigs were central to the household economy and the language to describe them was correspondingly warm. While it won't come up in everyday urban conversation, it survives in Irish dialect, literature, and the speech of those with strong connections to the countryside.