scallop

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a marine bivalve mollusc with a fan-shaped, fluted shell, capable of swimming by rapidly opening and closing its shell

   The diver watched a scallop propel itself away from the seabed.

2. 2
   noun

   the edible round muscle of a scallop, or the mollusc considered as food

   The chef seared each scallop until its surface was golden.

3. 3
   verb

   to form or decorate an edge with a series of rounded curves or projections

   The inlet scalloped the southern shoreline into a chain of small coves.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Scallop was borrowed in Middle English from Old French escalope, meaning “shell,” probably itself borrowed from a Germanic language. The word began to describe an edge formed like a row of scallop shells in the early 17th century.

From Middle English scalop and Old French escalope, 'shell.' The initial vowel was lost in English, producing scallop beside the variant escallop. The verb arose from the shell's regularly curved edge and was extended to similarly shaped borders.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary