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gizzard

[giz-erd]
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noun Zoology.

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.
Also called gastric mill. a similar structure in the foregut of arthropods and several other invertebrates, often lined with chitin and small teeth.
the innards or viscera collectively, especially the intestine and stomach.

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RELATED WORDS

heart, marrow, stomach, tongue, tripe, brains, chitlins, chitterlings, giblets, kidneys, liver, pancreas, sweetbread, testis, thymus

Nearby words

  1. giver,
  2. givey,
  3. giza,
  4. gizeh,
  5. gizmo,
  6. gizzard shad,
  7. gj,
  8. gjallar-horn,
  9. gjellerup,
  10. gjuki

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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gizzards

British Dictionary definitions for gizzards

gizzard

noun

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
a similar structure in many invertebrates
informal the stomach and entrails generally

Word Origin for gizzard

C14: from Old North French guisier fowl's liver, alteration of Latin gigēria entrails of poultry when cooked, of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for gizzards

gizzard

n.

"stomach of a bird," late 14c., from Old French gisier (Modern French gésier) "entrails, giblets (of a bird)," probably from Vulgar Latin *gicerium, dissimilated from Latin gigeria (neuter plural) "cooked entrails of a fowl," a delicacy in ancient Rome, from PIE *yekwr- "liver" (see hepatitis). Parasitic -d added 1500s. Later extended to other animals, and, jocularly, to human beings.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Science definitions for gizzards

gizzard

[gĭz′ərd]

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.