gizzard

gizzard
/giz"euhrd/, n. Zool.
1. Also called ventriculus. a thick-walled, muscular pouch in the lower stomach of many birds and reptiles that grinds food, often with the aid of ingested stones or grit.
2. Also called gastric mill. a similar structure in the foregut of arthropods and several other invertebrates, often lined with chitin and small teeth.
3. the innards or viscera collectively, esp. the intestine and stomach.
[1325-75; ME giser < OF giser, gezier (F gésier) < VL *gigerium; cf. L gigeria, gizeria giblets, perh. ult. < Iranian; cf. Pers jigar liver]

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      in many birds, the hind part of the stomach, especially modified for grinding food. Located between the saclike crop and the intestine, the gizzard has a thick muscular wall and may contain small stones, or gastroliths, that function in the mechanical breakdown of seeds and other foods. In this sense, the gizzard is comparable to the teeth of other animals. A few other animals, such as earthworms and some moss animals, also have gizzardlike structures.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Synonyms:
(in birds)


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gizzard — Giz zard, n. [F. g[ e]sier, L. gigeria, pl., the cooked entrails of poultry. Cf. {Gigerium}.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Anat.) The second, or true, muscular stomach of birds, in which the food is crushed and ground, after being softened in the glandular …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gizzard — stomach of a bird, late 14c., from O.Fr. gisier (Mod.Fr. gésier) entrails, giblets (of a bird), probably from V.L. *gicerium, dissimilated from L. gigeria (neut. pl.) cooked entrails of a fowl, a delicacy in ancient Rome, from PIE *yekwr liver… …   Etymology dictionary

  • gizzard — ► NOUN 1) a muscular, thick walled part of a bird s stomach for grinding food, typically with grit. 2) a muscular stomach of some fish, insects, molluscs, and other invertebrates. ORIGIN Old French, from Latin gigeria cooked entrails of fowl …   English terms dictionary

  • gizzard — [giz′ərd] n. [ME giser (+ unhistoric d) < OFr gisier < L gigeria, pl., cooked entrails of poultry < ? an Iran base > Pers džigar, liver] 1. the second stomach of a bird: it has thick muscular walls and a tough lining for grinding food …   English World dictionary

  • Gizzard — The gizzard, also referred to as the ventriculus, gastric mill, and gigerium, is an organ in the digestive tract found in birds, reptiles, earthworms, some fish, and other creatures. This specialized stomach constructed of thick, muscular walls… …   Wikipedia

  • gizzard — UK [ˈɡɪzə(r)d] / US [ˈɡɪzərd] noun [countable] Word forms gizzard : singular gizzard plural gizzards the stomach of a chicken or other bird …   English dictionary

  • gizzard —  1. Stomach.  2. fret one s gizzard Worry.  3. stick in one s gizzard Annoy one …   A concise dictionary of English slang

  • gizzard — noun Etymology: alteration of Middle English giser gizzard, liver, from Anglo French gesir, giser, from Latin gigeria (plural) giblets Date: 1565 1. a. the muscular enlargement of the alimentary canal of birds that has usually thick muscular… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • gizzard — n. [OF. gezier, gizzard] 1. A grinding chamber of various invertebrates. 2. (ANNELIDA: Oligochaeta) A muscular area of the digestive system between intestine and crop. 3. (ARTHROPODA) For Insecta and Crustacea, see proventriculus. 4. (BRYOZOA:… …   Dictionary of invertebrate zoology

  • gizzard — [14] Latin gigeria denoted the ‘cooked entrails of poultry’, something of a delicacy in ancient Rome (the word may have been borrowed from Persian jigar). This produced a Vulgar Latin *gicerium, which passed into Old French as giser. English… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

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