gizzard
[giz-erd]
- 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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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
Examples from the Web for gizzards
Contemporary Examples
It would wring our gizzards intolerably to see so much good stuff going to waste.
Historical Examples
Skewer the livers and gizzards to the sides, under the wings.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesEliza Leslie
Reserve the livers, gizzards, and hearts to put in the gravy.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesEliza Leslie
Cut off the bills and split the heads; and cut the necks and gizzards into mouthfuls.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesEliza Leslie
These gizzards are nature's gristmills, and they grind exceedingly fine.
Life: Its True GenesisR. W. Wright
After very nicely cleaning goose or duck giblets, and removing the thick membrane from the gizzards, stew them, in a little water.
gizzard
- 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
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Word Origin
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
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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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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