sirloin

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɝlɔɪn/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English surloine, surloyne,^[2][3][4] from Middle French surlonge (“upper part of the loin”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Old French sur (“over, above”) + loigne (“loin”).^[2][3][4][5] The French preposition comes from Latin super.^[2][5] The spelling with sir- appeared in the 17th century^[3][4] and may have been influenced by sir.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A cut of beef (before 1425 in Barnhart, as surloyne);^[3][4] the OED's first quotation, for the upper and better part of the loin, is from 1554.^[7][5]

Semantic evolution

A story that an English king knighted the cut for its excellence dates to Fuller's Church-History of Britain (1655),^[4] but Etymonline finds no evidence for it;^[4] the tale was told variously of Henry VIII, James I and Charles II.^[4] Puns on Sir Loin are recorded from 1630.^[7]

Timeline

• before 1425 – surloyne, a cut of beef.^[3][4]
• 1554 – the upper part of a loin of beef.^[7][5]
• 1620s – spelling sirloin.^[4]
• 1655 – the “knighted” story in Fuller.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A cut of beef from the upper part of the loin, just in front of the rump or round.
2. In British use, a cut from the middle of the back, roughly the American short loin.

Related words

• loin
• sur-
• sir
• surname

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press