gizzard

[ giz-erd ]

noun

, Zoology.

1. Also called ventriculus. a thick-walled, muscular pouch in the lower stomach of many birds and reptiles that grinds food, often with the aid of ingested stones or grit.
2. Also called gastric mill. a similar structure in the foregut of arthropods and several other invertebrates, often lined with chitin and small teeth.
3. the innards or viscera collectively, especially the intestine and stomach.

gizzard

/ ˈɡɪzəd /

noun

1. the thick-walled part of a bird's stomach, in which hard food is broken up by muscular action and contact with grit and small stones
2. a similar structure in many invertebrates
3. informal.
   the stomach and entrails generally

gizzard

/ gĭz′ərd /

1. A muscular pouch behind the stomach in birds. It has a thick lining and often contains swallowed sand or grit, which helps in the mechanical breakdown of food.

Word History and Origins

Origin of gizzard¹

1325–75; Middle English giser < Old French giser, gezier ( French gésier ) < Vulgar Latin *gigerium; compare Latin gigeria, gizeria giblets, perhaps ultimately < Iranian; compare Persian jigar liver

Word History and Origins

Origin of gizzard¹

C14: from Old North French guisier fowl's liver, alteration of Latin gigēria entrails of poultry when cooked, of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

Like its fellow enantiornithines, and unlike modern birds, it does not appear to have a digestive organ called a gizzard, or gastric mill, that helped it crush up its food.

From Science Daily

Grit: As chickens do not have teeth, they eat sand and small stones to fill their gizzards.

From Literature

But it was Meat Rats — and several instances of selling misbranded chicken gizzards, pork spareribs and other meat — that put an end to Ya Feng, which ceased operations at the end of 2022.

From Seattle Times

Many species of birds purposefully consume small stones and grit, which collect in their gizzards – the second part of their stomachs – and help the birds digest their food by pulverizing it.

From Scientific American

Before anything enters a bird's gizzard, an organ for grinding up food, the proventriculus secretes digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid to break down meals.

From Salon