gammon
A cut of quick-cured pork legA cut of quick-cured pork leg.
» I prefer to eat gammon with mustard.
Meaning
7 senses(countable, uncountable)A cut of quick-cured pork leg.
о́корокókorok
(countable, dialectal, uncountable)A joke, trick; play, sport, merriment.
(countable, uncountable)A victory in backgammon achieved when the opponent has not borne off a single stone.
(countable, rare, uncountable)Backgammon (the game itself).
A rope fastening a bowsprit to the stem of a ship (usually called a gammoning).
(dated, uncountable)Chatter, ridiculous nonsense.
(UK, countable, derogatory, neologism, uncountable)A middle-aged or older right-wing, reactionary white man, or such men collectively.
- hind portion of a side of bacon
- meat cut from the thigh of a hog (usually smoked)
Examples
1 sentencesI prefer to eat gammon with mustard.
Translations
3 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English *gammon, gambon, from Old French gambon (compare modern French jambonFrom Middle English *gammon, gambon, from Old French gambon (compare modern French jambon (“ham”)), from gambe (“leg”), from Late Latin gamba, from Ancient Greek καμπή (kampḗ). Doublet of jambon and jamon.
From Middle English gamenen, gamene, from Old English gamnian, gæmnian, gamenian (“to joke, play”), from Proto-West Germanic *gamanōn, from Proto-Germanic *gamanōną (“to play, have fun, joke”). Cognate with Middle High German gamenen (“to mock, make fun of”), Icelandic gamna (“to have fun”). More at game.
Perhaps related to the first etymology, with reference to tying up a ham.
Perhaps a special use of the word from etymology 2.
Gained popularity in 2017 (in the phrase "Great Wall of Gammon", likening the referents' rosy complexions to gammon (“ham, bacon”)), although the metaphor was in use earlier: the BBC points to a 2016 use of “gammon face”.
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Forms
plural: gammonsSynonyms
3 synonymsWord family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable