sparerib

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A cut of pork ribs with most of the meat trimmed away.

   We grilled spareribs at the barbecue.

Probably borrowed from Low German ribbesper, from Middle Low German ribbespêr (“spare-ribs”), from ribbe (“rib”) + sper (“spear; spit”), from Old Saxon ribbi + sper, from Proto-Germanic *ribją + *speru. The word was transposed, with the first element becoming confused with English spare due to folk-etymology. Compare also English ribspare (rare, modern uses dialectal).

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