gizzard

American  

[giz-erd] / ˈgɪz ərd /

noun

Zoology.

1. Also called ventriculus.  a thick-walled, muscular pouch in the lower stomach of many birds and reptiles that grinds food, often with the aid of ingested stones or grit.

2. Also called gastric mill.  a similar structure in the foregut of arthropods and several other invertebrates, often lined with chitin and small teeth.

3. the innards or viscera collectively, especially the intestine and stomach.

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gizzard British  

/ ˈɡɪzəd /

noun

1. the thick-walled part of a bird's stomach, in which hard food is broken up by muscular action and contact with grit and small stones

2. a similar structure in many invertebrates

3. informal the stomach and entrails generally

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gizzard Scientific  

/ gĭz′ərd /

1. A muscular pouch behind the stomach in birds. It has a thick lining and often contains swallowed sand or grit, which helps in the mechanical breakdown of food.

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Etymology

Origin of gizzard

1325–75; Middle English giser < Old French giser, gezier ( French gésier ) < Vulgar Latin *gigerium; compare Latin gigeria, gizeria giblets, perhaps ultimately < Iranian; compare Persian jigar liver

Explanation

A gizzard is an internal organ that some kinds of animals have in their digestive tracts. Turkeys and chickens use their gizzard to grind up food, often along with small stones they swallow. Some crustaceans and fish have gizzards, and so do birds, crocodiles, and alligators. Dinosaurs had gizzards too! If you've ever cooked a Thanksgiving turkey, you might recognize the gizzard as one of the parts that are removed before roasting, but in many cuisines the gizzard is a delicious treat. In a live animal, the gizzard performs the function of teeth, grinding food to make it more digestible.

Example Sentences

Like its fellow enantiornithines, and unlike modern birds, it does not appear to have a digestive organ called a gizzard, or gastric mill, that helped it crush up its food.

From Science Daily • Mar. 5, 2024

Before anything enters a bird's gizzard, an organ for grinding up food, the proventriculus secretes digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid to break down meals.

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2023

She had used blood, liver, bones and gizzard because they were affordable, then giblets got too expensive, and she replaced them with fried eggs.

From BBC • Aug. 16, 2022

But an emerging threat becomes evident in early June as Friesen hauls up minnow traps and gillnets packed with carp, gizzard shad, green sunfish and, ominously, three smallmouth bass.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 14, 2022

Justin carefully peeled back the sides of the earthworm to reveal the gray gizzard, the glistening reproductive parts, like miniature white beans fresh from the can.

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin