Chitterling

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A culinary item made from the cleaned intestines of pigs, typically boiled or fried, that is enjoyed in specific cultural cuisines
2. A food preparation involving pig intestines, often cooked through boiling or frying, and featured as a delicacy in various traditional meals
3. A type of dish created using the intestines of pigs, which are thoroughly cleaned and then typically boiled or fried, and often considered a delicacy in certain cultures

Etymology: Chitterlings are the small intestines of a pig, cleaned, cooked, and served as a traditional dish, and the name has the look of a diminutive built on an older stem. Its exact origin is unclear, though. The word appears in Middle English as "chiterling," and its closest relatives are found in Germanic languages, where the stem means "entrails" or "tripe." Middle Low German "kǖtel" and German "Kuttel" both refer to a stomach or intestinal food, and Scots "kyte" means "belly." The shared sense of guts and belly points to a common Germanic root, but no firm link has been established between these forms and any older word. The clearest pattern is the one the cognates reveal: the word has always named the animal's innards rather than a cut of meat. Its English form took on the plural ending that makes it sound like a cooked dish, which is why it is almost always heard in the plural even when speakers mean a single serving.

Synonyms: pig intestine, tripe, offal