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gammon

 [gam-uhn]   Origin

gam·mon

1   [gam-uhn] Backgammon.
noun
1.
the game of backgammon.
2.
a victory in which the winner throws off all his or her pieces before the opponent throws off any.
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verb (used with object)
3.
to win a gammon over.

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Gammon is one of our favorite verbs.
So is lollygag. Does it mean:
to spend time idly; loaf.
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
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Origin:
1720–30; perhaps special use of Middle English gamen game1
Dictionary.com Unabridged

gam·mon

2   [gam-uhn]
noun
1.
a smoked or cured ham.
2.
the lower end of a side of bacon.
Origin:
1480–90; < Old French gambon ham (French jambon), derivative of gambe; see jamb1

gam·mon

3   [gam-uhn] British Informal.
noun
1.
deceitful nonsense; bosh.
verb (used without object)
2.
to talk gammon.
3.
to make pretense.
verb (used with object)
4.
to humbug.
Origin:
1710–20; perhaps special use of gammon1

Related forms
gam·mon·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To gammon
Collins
World English Dictionary
gammon1 (ˈɡæmən)
 
—n
1.  a cured or smoked ham
2.  the hindquarter of a side of bacon, cooked either whole or cut into large rashers
 
[C15: from Old Northern French gambon, from gambe leg; see gambrel]

gammon2 (ˈɡæmən)
 
—n
1.  a double victory in backgammon in which one player throws off all his pieces before his opponent throws any
2.  archaic the game of backgammon
 
—vb
3.  (tr) to score a gammon over
 
[C18: probably special use of Middle English gamengame1]

gammon3 (ˈɡæmən)
 
—n
1.  deceitful nonsense; humbug
 
—vb
2.  to deceive (a person)
 
[C18: perhaps special use of gammon²]
 
'gammoner3
 
—n

gammon4 (ˈɡæmən)
 
—vb
(tr) nautical to fix (a bowsprit) to the stemhead of a vessel
 
[C18: perhaps related to gammon1, with reference to the tying up of a ham]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

gammon
1486, from O.N.Fr. gambon "ham," from gambe "leg," from L.L. gamba "leg of an animal." Originally "the ham or haunch of a swine."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
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