Talk:pig iron

Etymology

The current page, as it exists, says the following:

In the 1800s, one method of iron-making involved pouring molten iron into molds in sand beds fed from a common channel.

This presents a bit of a problem, as it suggests that the word's etymology is from roughly 200 years after it was first recorded. (Specifically, the OED's quotes suggest the current earliest recorded occurrence is in 1665, while the earlier and now obsolete "sow iron", from which pig iron likely evolved, is known as far back as 1608.) Does anyone have a decent source that attests to the etymology, without suggesting that the word is of 19th century origin, so that the above can be corrected?

G026r (talk) 20:31, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

To me the problem was just in the date. The rest seems plausible enough. w:Pig iron and w:Finery forge imply the method existed much earlier, well before 1608. They contain references about iron-making in Britain from 500AD on. DCDuring TALK 00:24, 14 August 2012 (UTC)