Definition
nounCured meat from the sides, belly, or back of a pig.
nounCured meat from the sides, belly, or back of a pig., Such meat from the belly specifically.
Sentence Examples
Would you like bacon or sausage?
Bacon and eggs is his order.
Consisting of bacon and cheese, the sandwich was quite greasy.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English bacoun (“meat from the back and sides of a pig”), from Anglo-Norman bacon, bacun (“ham, flitch, strip of lard”), from Old Low Frankish *bakō (“ham, flitch”), from Proto-Germanic *bakô, *bakkô (“back”), an extension of *baką, whence English back, which see for more. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“back, buttocks; to vault, arch”).
Cognate with Old Saxon baco (“back”), Dutch bake (“ham, side of bacon”), Old High German bahho (“ham, side of bacon”), whence German Bache f (“wild sow”), Alemannic German Bache m (“bacon”).
(police): Extension of pig (“police”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"They fried the fish with bacon and were astonished, for no fish had ever seemed so delicious before."
— 2006, Joanna Pruess, Seduced by Bacon, The Lyons Press, →ISBN, page 93:
"It is not a crime to enjoy some bacon or a trout or what have you."
— 2008, Christopher Paolini, “To Walk the Land Alone”, in Brisingr, page 73:
"For us the pig's the means, while bacon is the end / Providing gustatory heights to which we can ascend."
— 2009 March 31, Laura Casey, “Piggin' out on bacon at S.F.'s BaconCamp”, in San Jose Mercury News, retrieved 19 Oct 2010:
"Bacon is something that everybody is familiar with and most people grew up eating. It has a comfort aspect to it and a familiarity. It's also got an addictive aspect to it - that sweet and salty combination of flavors. And it's probably just a little bit unhealthy for you. When you get to have bacon, it's exciting and something you look forward to."
— 2009 August 12, Lisa Abraham, “Bacon comes home - Old favorite tastes even better when you do the curing yourself”, in Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio, page D1:
"As mesmerizing as it is to watch Kristen Kish whip up bacon and cinnamon waffles with boysenberry and strawberry jam, imagine playing poker with Hosea Rosenberg."
— 2014 September 11, Pam Grout, “Really? 10 unexpected cruise activities”, in CNN: