Forms: 4–5 colope, colhoppe, 4–6 coloppe, colloppe, (5 colepe, colype), 5–6 colop, 6 colup, collup, 6–7 collap, collopp, 7 collope, 5– collop. [Derivation obscure. Ihre has Sw. kollops ‘edulii genus, confectum ex carnis fragmentis, tudite lignea probe contusis et maceratis’; mod.Sw. kalops slices of beef stewed; Grimm has Ger. klops a dish made of beaten (geklopftem) meat, a steak. These seem to be the same word, but the latter is commonly associated with Ger. klopfen to beat.
Connection with the Romanic colpo, OF. colp, F. coup, is not very likely phonetically. Minsheu’s notion, that the first part is col- coal, suits the early sense, and L. carbonella.]
† 1. An egg fried on bacon: fried ham and eggs.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. VII. 272. I haue no salt Bacon, Ne no Cokeneyes, bi Crist Colopus to maken [v.r. colopis, -es, colhoppis; B. VI. 287 coloppes; C. IX. 309 colhoppes]. Ibid. (1393), C. XVI. 67. And ete meny sondry metes … bacon and colhoppes [v.r. coloppes, colloppus, colopis; B. XIII. 63 egges yfryed with grece].
1530. Palsgr., 207/1. Colloppe, meate, œuf au lard.
b. Afterwards called Collops and eggs, ‘collop’ being applied to the slice of bacon by itself.
1542. Boorde, Dyetary, xvi. (1870), 273. Bacon is good for carters and plowmen … but and yf they haue the stone … coloppes and egges is as holsome for them, as a talowe candell is good for a horse mouth.
1586. Cogan, Haven Health, cxciii. (1636), 174. Collops and egges … is an usuall dish toward shrovetide.
1599. Porter, Angry Wom. Abingt. (Percy Soc.), 105. Ile cut thee out in collops and egges, in steakes, in sliste beefe, and frye the with the fyer.
1611. Cotgr., Des œufs à la riblette, egges and collops; or an Omelet or Pancake of egges and slices of bacon mingled, and fried together.
1681. W. Robertson, Phraseol. Gen. (1693), 475. Collops and eggs, for dinner.
1877. N. W. Linc. Gloss., Collops and eggs, fried bacon and eggs.
c. Collop Monday, the day before Shrove Tuesday, on which fried bacon and eggs still form the appropriate dish in many places.
1769. De Foe, Tour Gt. Brit., III. 300. The Monday preceding Fastens Even … called every-where in the North Collop Monday, from an immemorial Custom there of dining that Day on Eggs and Collops.
1805. R. Anderson, Cumberld. Ball., Sally Gray, note. The first Monday before Lent is … called Collop Monday; and the first Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday.
1855. Whitby Gloss., Collop Monday, egg and bacon feast day, the day before Shrove Tuesday.
† d. See quot. Obs.
1570. Levins, Manip., 149/35. 4 collip, cremium [Cremium, what remains dry in the pan after frying anything, rendering of suet or the like (Du Cange).]
2. A slice of meat fried (frixa) or broiled (carbonella); a slice for frying or broiling. Still dial.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 88. Colloppe, frixitura, in frigo, assa, carbonacium, carbonella.
1468. Medulla Gram., in Cath. Angl., 72. Frixa, a colop, or a pece off flesch.
1583. Stanyhurst, Æneis, I. (Arb.), 24. Soom doe slise owt collops on spits yeet quirilye trembling.
1611. Cotgr., Griblettes, Collops.
1660. Blount, Boscobel, 35. His Majesty cut some of it [mutton] into Collops … called for a Frying-pan and butter, and fry’d the collops himself.
1859. E. Waugh, Lanc. Songs, ‘Come Whoam’ (Lanc. Gloss.). There’s some nice bacon collops o’th hob, An’ a quart o’ ale-posset i’ th’ oon.
b. Without any reference to mode of cooking: A slice of meat.
1577–87. Holinshed, Chron., II. 19/1. If a man, saie they, had eaten a collop of Adam his leg, he had eaten flesh.
1641. Depos. R. Maxwell, in Rushw., Hist. Coll., III. (1692), I. 419. At the Siege of Augher, they would not kill any English Beast and then eat it, but they cut Collops out of them being alive.
1681. Colvil, Whigs Supplic. (1751), 32. Collope of live-horses hips.
1741. Compl. Fam. Piece, I. ii. 115. Cut your Plaice in six Collops.
1777. Brand, Pop. Antiq. (1849), I. 62. Slices of this kind of meat [salted, dried, or hung] are to this day termed collops in the North, whereas they are called steaks when cut off from fresh or unsalted flesh.
1845. Thackeray, Crit. Rev., Wks. 1886, XXIII. 78. I have often … cut off great collops of the smoking beeves.
1855. Whitby Gloss., s.v., ‘I’ll cut you into collops,’ a threat of chastisement to children.
1888. Berksh. Gloss., Collop, a rather thick slice of meat. [So in most northern dial. glossaries.]
fig. 1795. G. Wakefield, Reply 2nd Pt. Age of Reason, 33. Interlarded with nauseous collops of self-applause.
c. locally. Meat cut into small pieces. Scotch collops: ‘a savory dish made of slic’d veal, bacon, forc’d meat and several other ingredients’ (Bailey, 1730–6); now, a steak with onions. Minced collops (Sc.): minced meat, mince.
a. 1648. Digby, Closet Open. (1677), 164. So that the collops be so short that they scarce hang together. Ibid. (1669), 199. My Lord of Bristol’s Scotch Collops are thus made.
1769. Mrs. Raffald, Eng. Housekpr. (1778), 73. To warm up Scotch Collops.
1850. W. Irving, Goldsmith, iv. 60. A fried steak … collops with onion sauce.
1863. Times, 6 April, 4/6. The beefsteaks minced and stewed become ‘hot collops.’
† 3. transf. A piece of flesh. Obs.
1562. J. Heywood, Prov. & Epigr. (1867), 23. It is a déere colup That is cut out of thowne fleshe.
c. 1631. Donne, Serm., xcvi. IV. 255. That a Martyr … shd. send me … a Collop of his flesh wrapped up in a half-sheet of Paper.
1666. Third Advice to Painter, 21. when the rude Bullet a large collop tore Out of that Buttock, never turned before.
b. Used of offspring.
c. 1515. Cocke Lorell’s B. (Percy Soc.), 11. Tyburne collopes, and peny pryckers.
1569. J. Rogers, Gl. Godly Loue (Shaks. Soc. 1876), 186. In their children do the Parents liue (in a manner) after their death. For they dye not all togethers that leaue collops of their owne flesh aliue behinde them.
1571. Campion, Hist. Irel., II. x. (1633), 134. Were they never so deare collopps of your owne flesh and bloud.
1611. Shaks., Wint. T., I. ii. 137. To say this Boy were like me … Most dear’st, my Collop.
4. A thick fold of flesh on the body as evidence of a well-fed condition. Now Sc. and dial.
1560. Bible (Genev.), Job xv. 27. He hathe covered his face with his fatnes, and hathe collopes in his flancke [1611 collops of fat on his flankes].
1601. Dent, Pathw. Heaven, 191.
1607. Topsell, Four-f. Beasts (1673), 515. The collop next to the neck [of a swine] ought to be broad and stiffe.
a. 1661. Fuller, Worthies (1840), I. 166. Fat folk (whose collops stick to their sides) are generally lazy, whilst leaner people are of more activity.
1709. Brit. Apollo, II. No. 19. 3/2. We’ll warrant they’ll pull down your Collop.
1730–6. Bailey, s.v., He has lost a Collop, he is fallen away, he is grown lean.
5. fig. A slice; a piece cut off, a cantle.
1580. North, Plutarch (1676), 116. To make them restore back such a collop out of their gain.
1602. Rowlands, Greene’s Cony-catcher, 9. These Batfowlers or Conicatchers hauing lost a collop of their liuing.
1654. Gataker, Disc. Apol., 28. Had I been greedie of anie such fat collops, out of the Bishops or Deans Lands.
1703. Penn, in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem., IX. 212. The collops cut out of my own and my son’s and daughter’s concerns.
b. Piece of business, piece of luck. dial.
1876. Whitby Gloss., Collop, a portion. ‘It will be a costly collop to them,’ an expensive undertaking.
1877. N. W. Lincolnsh. Gloss., s.v., Here’s a collop! Maister Edward’s pull’d water-tub tap out, an’ Monday’s wesh-day.
† 6. A clot of mucus from the nose or throat.
1589. Nashe, Pasquil & Marf., 20. One cause of Martinisme, is a collop that dropt out of Mydas nose, a desire of Gold.
1611. Cotgr., Glagou, a dot, a collop of flegme spet out.
7. Comb. collop-cake dial. (see quot.); collop-Monday (see 1 c.).
1877. Holderness Gloss., Collop-keeaks, cakes made of two layers of paste, with bacon or ham between.
