biltong

Where does the word "biltong" come from? It comes from Dutch/Afrikaans bil, and was adopted directly into English (1815).

Biltong’s story begins in Dutch/Afrikaans: bil meant “a strip of rump meat.” A buttock or rump, combined with tong (a strip or tongue), describing strips of dried meat. It reached English by 1815 as biltong. Dutch 'bil', rump, plus 'tong', tongue or strip; Voortrekkers carried it on their journeys inland in the 1830s. Today, biltong means dried, cured strips of meat, a popular snack in southern Africa.

1. Stage 1 · Dutch/Afrikaans · 1700s bil "a strip of rump meat", a buttock or rump, combined with tong (a strip or tongue), describing strips of dried meat.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1815 biltong "dried, cured strips of meat", Dutch 'bil', rump, plus 'tong', tongue or strip; Voortrekkers carried it on their journeys inland in the 1830s.