Meanings
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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.
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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.
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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.
Thesaurus
Etymology
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.