squab

American  

[skwob] / skwɒb /

noun

plural

squabs, squab

1. a nestling pigeon, especially a domesticated one raised to an age of about 30 days for its flesh.

2. Cooking. the flesh of the squab, used as food.

   Our squab was served with a butter and raisin sauce.

3. a short, stout person.

4. a thickly stuffed, soft cushion.

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adjective

1. short and thick or broad.

2. (of a bird) unfledged or newly hatched.

squab British  

/ skwɒb /

noun

1. a young unfledged bird, esp a pigeon

2. a short fat person

3. 1. a well-stuffed bolster or cushion

   2. a sofa

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adjective

1. (of birds) recently hatched and still unfledged

2. short and fat

Other Word Forms

• squabby adjective

Etymology

Origin of squab

First recorded in 1630–40; probably from Scandinavian; compare Swedish dialect skvabb “loose, fat flesh,” skvabba “fat woman,” Norwegian skvabb “soft wet mass”

Explanation

A squab is a young domestic pigeon, the domesticated version of the wild rock pigeon. Most people use the word squab when they're talking about this bird as food. If you order squab in a restaurant, you'll be served what looks like a small roasted chicken. The word squab was once used for the meat of any dove or pigeon—including the now-extinct passenger pigeon. In the 17th century, it simply meant "very young bird," but earlier it was used to mean "unformed, lumpish person" or "lumpish mass." The origins of squab are uncertain, but it's probably related to the Swedish skvabb, meaning "loose, fat flesh."

Example Sentences

But Sun Sui Wah’s most famous dish remains the roasted squab.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 8, 2024

Calling to me in winter are smoked squab breast with roasted chanterelles and venison paired with red cabbage and roasted squash, dishes that highlight the kitchen’s classic saucing.

From Washington Post • Nov. 30, 2021

"Mr. Jiu's in Chinatown" includes a recipe for squab in lettuce cups, though not iceberg.

From Salon • May 28, 2021

Inside was riotously loud, with the cries of chickens, duck, quail, guinea fowl and the tender pigeons known as squab, jostling for space and pecking seed in tall metal cages.

From The Guardian • Jun. 17, 2020

He had cooked squab in soy sauce so that the skin and meat were a deep, deep brown all the way to the bone.

From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep

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