From Middle High German verkelen, byform of verhelīn, from Old High German farhilī, farhilīn, diminutive of farah (“pig”), from Proto-West Germanic *farh, from Proto-Germanic *farhaz (whence English farrow), from Proto-Indo-European *pórḱos.

The -k- has been explained as an irregular fortition of -h-, which would be plausible if the form were of Upper German origin, where -h- was strong and where there was dialectal variation between /rx/ and /rk/. However, verkelen is first found in West Central German along the Rhine, where stem-internal -h- had been lost early on (Middle High German verlīn). It therefore seems at least equally probable that the -k- is due to influence by a related Rhenish word for “pig, piglet”, still found today in Ripuarian Ferke, which goes back to a Frankish *far(i)kīn (compare Old Dutch farkīn, ferkīn, whence modern Dutch varken), from Proto-Germanic *farhikīną, another diminutive of *farhaz.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛrkəl/, [ˈfɛʁ.kl̩], [ˈfɛɐ̯-], [-kəl]

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

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Ferkel n (strong, genitive Ferkels, plural Ferkel, diminutive Ferkelchen n or Ferklein n)

1. piglet; a young/immature pig
2. (derogatory) a dirty or contemptible person

   Synonyms: Stinktier, Sau

• Hirschferkel

• “Ferkel” in Duden online
• “Ferkel” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache