jowl

UK/d͡ʒaʊl/US/d͡ʒaʊl/

nounC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,198 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: jowls

A jowl is the loose flesh under the jaw. Heavy jowls, sagging jowls, a jowl of fat.

It is nearly always plural and rarely a compliment about a person. Cheek by jowl is the fixed phrase and means packed tightly side by side, from the two faces being that close.

Definitions of jowl

1nounjowlThe loose flesh under the jaw.C2
“The old bulldog's heavy jowls wobbled as it trotted along.”

jowl is a flesh.

Where it comes from

Old English ceafl means jaw or cheek, from a Germanic root.

Proto-West Germanic
*kafl — jaw, cheek
Old English
ċeafl — jaw, cheek
Middle English
jawle
English, today
jowl

Built from

chavel · Middle English — jaw, jawbone

From Middle English jawle, chawl, chavel (“jaw, jawbone”), from Old English ċeafl (“jaw, cheek”), from Proto-West Germanic kafl (“jaw, cheek”). The modern form (for expected chavel, chawl; still found dialectally) is influenced by a doublet of jaw, which it is a partial doublet of.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Song of Ice and Fire

Practise this word

jowl in the wild

While guanciale, a cured pork jowl, is traditional, some variations use pancetta, and lardons of smoked bacon are a common substitute outside Italy.
Carbonara
In other animals, the cheeks may also be referred to as "jowls".
Cheek
The jowl strap should be very snug to prevent the cavesson from slipping into the horse's eye.
Longeing cavesson
Sisig ( Tagalog pronunciation:) is a Filipino dish made from pork jowl and ears (maskara), which is usually seasoned with calamansi, onions, and chili peppers.
Sisig
Guanciale is an Italian salt-cured meat product prepared from pork jowl or cheeks.
Guanciale

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

jabber

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