gizzard

[giz-erd]

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.

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. 2018

Related Words for gizzards

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

Examples from the Web for gizzards

Contemporary Examples of gizzards

It would wring our gizzards intolerably to see so much good stuff going to waste.
The Stacks: H.L. Mencken on the 1904 Baltimore Fire
H.L. Mencken
October 4, 2014

Historical Examples of gizzards

Skewer the livers and gizzards to the sides, under the wings.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Reserve the livers, gizzards, and hearts to put in the gravy.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Cut off the bills and split the heads; and cut the necks and gizzards into mouthfuls.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
These gizzards are nature's gristmills, and they grind exceedingly fine.
Life: Its True Genesis
R. W. Wright
After very nicely cleaning goose or duck giblets, and removing the thick membrane from the gizzards, stew them, in a little water.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton

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

"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.

gizzards in Science

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.