bacon

B1 Topic:Food & Drink

US /ˈbeɪ.kən/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like beckon /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

Freq #4305

Meanings

1

noun
Salted or smoked meat from the back or sides of a pig, usually eaten in thin strips.

She fried some bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

ham pork

Word family

Forms bacons

Derived forms bacon-facedbacon-fedbaconburgerbaconedbaconerbaconianbaconizebaconlessbaconlikebacontinibaconweedbacony

Related forms backflitchgammon greenguancialehock hogpancettaporcine rasher slab smoked

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

bacon rind
the tough outer skin attached to a piece of bacon

Noun + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

bring home the bacon
To earn the money that supports a household.

Simplified etymology

Bacon was borrowed from French in the 14th century and can be traced to an ancient Germanic root also connected with back, probably because the word originally referred to a cut of meat from that part of the animal. Early English bacon could mean fresh or cured pork and could also denote a pig’s carcass.

Etymology

From Middle English bacoun (“meat from the back and sides of a pig”), from Anglo-Norman bacon, bacun (“ham, flitch, strip of lard”), from Old Low Frankish *bakō (“ham, flitch”), from Proto-Germanic *bakô, *bakkô (“back”), an extension of *baką, whence English back, which see for more. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“back, buttocks; to vault, arch”). Cognate with Old Saxon baco (“back”), Dutch bake (“ham, side of bacon”), Old High German bahho (“ham, side of bacon”), whence German Bache f (“wild sow”), Alemannic German Bache m (“bacon”). (police): Extension of pig (“police”).

bacoun Middle English *bakō frk *bakô Proto-Germanic *bʰeg- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Food & Drink

External links

# bacon

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbeɪ.kən/
**Frequency rank:** 4305

## Meanings
1. Salted or smoked meat from the back or sides of a pig, usually eaten in thin strips.

## Examples
- She fried some bacon and eggs for breakfast.

## Synonyms
- ham
- pork

## Derived Forms
- bacon-faced
- bacon-fed
- baconburger
- baconed
- baconer
- baconian
- baconize
- baconless
- baconlike
- bacontini
- baconweed
- bacony

## Related Forms
- back
- flitch
- gammon
- green
- guanciale
- hock
- hog
- pancetta
- porcine
- rasher
- slab
- smoked

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bacoun
- Root: *bakō
- Root: *bakô
- Root: *bʰeg-

## Etymology
From Middle English bacoun (“meat from the back and sides of a pig”), from Anglo-Norman bacon, bacun (“ham, flitch, strip of lard”), from Old Low Frankish *bakō (“ham, flitch”), from Proto-Germanic *bakô, *bakkô (“back”), an extension of *baką, whence English back, which see for more. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“back, buttocks; to vault, arch”). Cognate with Old Saxon baco (“back”), Dutch bake (“ham, side of bacon”), Old High German bahho (“ham, side of bacon”), whence German Bache f (“wild sow”), Alemannic German Bache m (“bacon”). (police): Extension of pig (“police”).

## AI Etymology
Bacon comes from Middle English bacoun (“meat from the back and sides of a pig”), from Anglo-Norman bacon, bacun (“ham, flitch, strip of lard”), from Old Low Frankish *bakō (“ham, flitch”), from Proto-Germanic *bakô, *bakkô (“back”), an extension of *baką, whence English back, which see for more. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“back, buttocks; to vault, arch”). Cognate with Old Saxon baco (“back”), Dutch bake (“ham, side of bacon”), Old High German bahho (“ham, side of bacon”), whence German Bache f (“wild sow”), Alemannic German Bache m (“bacon”). (police): Extension of pig (“police”).

## Topics
- Food & Drink

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