dewlap

[ doo-lap, dyoo- ]

noun

1. a pendulous fold of skin under the throat of a bovine animal.
2. any similar part in other animals, as the wattle of fowl or the inflatable loose skin under the throat of some lizards.

dewlap

/ ˈdjuːˌlæp /

noun

1. a loose fold of skin hanging from beneath the throat in cattle, dogs, etc
2. loose skin on an elderly person's throat

Derived Forms

• ˈdewˌlapped, adjective

Other Words From

• dewlapped adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dewlap¹

1350–1400; Middle English dew ( e ) lappe, apparently dewe dew + lappe lap ¹; compare Danish dog-læp, Dutch (dial.) dauw-zwengel; literal sense is unclear

Word History and Origins

Origin of dewlap¹

C14 dewlappe, from dew (probably changed by folk etymology from an earlier form of different meaning) + lap ¹(from Old English læppa hanging flap), perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish doglæp

Example Sentences

In Brazil, 80% of the cows are Zebus, a subspecies originating in India with a distinctive hump and dewlap, or folds of draping neck skin.

From Seattle Times

An imposing white cow with a distinctive hump on her back and flaps of "dewlap" skin flowing from her neck like a fashionable scarf set a record at auction last June in Arandú, Brazil.

From National Geographic

The zebu, easily recognized by its big shoulder hump and pronounced dewlap, is more tolerant of heat and drought, and more resistant to some diseases, although it produces less milk.

From Seattle Times

Instead, I find an Appalachian apple doll, withered and spotty, with dewlaps and bags and long floppy ears.

From Literature

What better way to wake up those tired eyes and add ballast to those sagging dewlaps than this curtain raiser to the Roaring Twenties?

From The Guardian