gammon

== English == === Pronunciation === enPR: gă'mən, IPA(key): /ˈɡæmən/ Rhymes: -æmən === Etymology 1 === From Middle English *gammon, gambon, from Old French gambon (compare modern French jambon (“ham”)), from gambe (“leg”), from Late Latin gamba, from Ancient Greek καμπή (kampḗ). Doublet of jambon and jamon. ==== Noun ==== gammon (countable and uncountable, plural gammons) A cut of quick-cured pork leg. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== gammon (third-person singular simple present gammons, present participle gammoning, simple past and past participle gammoned) To cure bacon by salting. === Etymology 2 === From Middle English gamenen, gamene, from Old English gamnian, gæmnian, gamenian (“to joke, play”), from Proto-West Germanic *gamanōn, from Proto-Germanic *gamanōną (“to play, have fun, joke”). Cognate with Middle High German gamenen (“to mock, make fun of”), Icelandic gamna (“to have fun”). More at game. ==== Alternative forms ==== gamen, gammen, gammin, gamon ==== Verb ==== gammon (third-person singular simple present gammons, present participle gammoning, simple past and past participle gammoned) (dialectal) To joke, kid around, play. (backgammon) To beat by a gammon (without the opponent bearing off a stone). ===== Derived terms ===== ==== Noun ==== gammon (countable and uncountable, plural gammons) (dialectal) A joke, trick; play, sport, merriment. (backgammon) A victory in backgammon achieved when the opponent has not borne off a single stone. (rare) Backgammon (the game itself). ===== Related terms ===== backgammon ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 3 === Perhaps related to the first etymology, with reference to tying up a ham. ==== Noun ==== gammon (plural gammons) (nautical) A rope fastening a bowsprit to the stem of a ship (usually called a gammoning). ==== Verb ==== gammon (third-person singular simple present gammons, present participle gammoning, simple past and past participle gammoned) To lash with ropes (on a ship). ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 4 === Perhaps a special use of the word from etymology 2. ==== Noun ==== gammon (uncountable) (dated) Chatter, ridiculous nonsense. Synonym: gammon and pickles ==== Verb ==== gammon (third-person singular simple present gammons, present participle gammoning, simple past and past participle gammoned) (colloquial, dated, transitive) To deceive; to lie plausibly to. ==== Adjective ==== gammon (comparative more gammon, superlative most gammon) (Papua New Guinea, Australian Aboriginal, chiefly Queensland, Northern Territory) Fake, pretend; bullshit. Alternative form: gammin ===== Descendants ===== Tok Pisin: giaman Tok Pisin: giamon === Etymology 5 === Gained popularity in 2017 (in the phrase "Great Wall of Gammon", likening the referents' rosy complexions to gammon (“ham, bacon”)), although the metaphor was in use earlier: the BBC points to a 2016 use of “gammon face”. ==== Noun ==== gammon (countable and uncountable, plural gammons) (neologism, derogatory, UK) A middle-aged or older right-wing, reactionary white man, or such men collectively. Coordinate terms: boomer (middle-aged or elderly person, perceived to be mostly conservative; US slang); see also Thesaurus:old man ==== See also ==== Karen gammonati === Further reading === “Etymology Corner - Collins Word of the Year 2018”, in Collins Dictionary Language Blog‎[3], 7 November 2018 George Pierpoint (14 May 2018), “Why your social media is covered in gammon”, in BBC News‎[4], BBC “gammon n.2 (nonsense)”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present. “gammon n.3 (right-wing white male)”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present. “gammon v. (to cheat)”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present. == Middle English == === Noun === gammon (Late Middle English, Cheshire) alternative form of gamen (“game”)