Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1729-1801, 1853-1880
[0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
†GAMMON, n. Also gamon, gammond, -t, gaument; gamo (Ork.).
1. Of a person: the leg, thigh.Edb. a.1730 A. Pennecuik Coll. Sc. Poems (1787) 40:
But you threw up your gammonds in the bed, Before the grace, and lost your maiden-head.Edb. 1772 R. Fergusson Poems (1925) 69:
War I to ride to bonny Tweed, Wha ne'er laid gamon o'er a steed Beyont Lusterrick.Ags. 1790 D. Morison Poems 12:
Wi' back to side they push . . . While gauments far are shot in To keep their place.Abd. 1801 W. Beattie Parings 10:
And never may our Fair, to rakes Throw out a gammon.Bnff. 1853 Bnffsh. Jnl. (3 May):
Geordie wi' the crookit gamon, Bowie wame, and gruffie paw.Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 133:
He fand . . . a thra' i' his right gamo.
2. Of an animal: the foot; "often those of pigs, sometimes called petit-toes" (Rxb. 1825 Jam., gammon(t)s). Gen. in pl.
[O.Northern Fr. gambon, ham (Mod.Fr. jambon), from pop. Lat. gamba, hock, older Fr. gambe, leg or shank, Mod.Fr. jambe.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Gammon n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/gammon>
