Tallow Meaning
/ˈtæləʊ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA hard animal fat obtained from suet, etc.; used in cooking as well as to make candles, soap and lubricants.
verbTo grease or smear with tallow.
Sentence Examples
To prevent impurities, make sure to reduce the tallow multiple times.
to tallow sheep
In historical times, candles were made using animal fat called tallow.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old-fashioned candle was made from animal fat called ____ and used for light.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In the past, people often used ____, which is a type of rendered animal fat, to make candles and several types of soap today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English talow, talgh, from Old English *tealh, *tealg, (compare Old English tælg, telg (“dye”)), from Proto-West Germanic *talg, from Proto-Germanic *talgaz (compare Dutch talg, German Talg), from Proto-Indo-European *del- (“to flow”) (compare Middle Irish delt (“dew”), Old Armenian տեղ (teł, “heavy rain”)).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""I have got a very fine shirt, which I am going to use for my wedding shirt; but there are three tallow stains on it which I want washed out[.]""
— 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 240:
"Nor were the wool prospects much better. The pastoral industry, which had weathered the severe depression of the early forties by recourse to boiling down the sheep for their tallow, and was now firmly re-established as the staple industry of the colony, was threatened once more with eclipse."
— 1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, A House Is Built, chapter VIII, section ii:
"Rendering is done by boiling the animal carcasses to separate the fat from the meat. At high temperatures, the fat floats as a creamy white substance called tallow, while the heavier protein sinks to the bottom, producing greaves, which can be fed to animals. Tallow is used to make candle wax or is mixed with ash and heated again to form soap."
— 2005, Carmen Ferreiro, Mad Cow Disease, Infobase Publishing, →ISBN, page 13:
"[…] their beef is finer than that of the old short-horned breed, and they fatten much earlier and quicker, conveying still a vast depth of natural flesh, and tallowing within in the first degree."
— 1824, R. W. Dickson, A Complete System of Improved Live Stock and Cattle, page 53:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old-fashioned candle was made from animal fat called ____ and used for light.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In the past, people often used ____, which is a type of rendered animal fat, to make candles and several types of soap today.