collop

noun

col·​lop ˈkä-ləp 

1

: a small piece or slice especially of meat

2

: a fold of fat flesh

Did you know?

The word collop is fat with meaning. It originated as a Middle-English word for an egg fried on bacon and later for the slice of bacon itself. In 18th-century Great Britain, it began designating the Monday before Shrove Tuesday. Traditionally, on "Collop Monday" fried bacon and eggs were eaten. The word was also extended to refer to any slice of meat, as in "collops of lobster," and to a fold of flesh on the body. In addition, the word can be used figuratively to refer to any piece of something - for example, in Sir Walter Scott's novel Waverley we find "a 'collop of the foray,' or, in plainer words, a portion of the robber's booty."

Word History

Etymology

Middle English

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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