omelet

noun

om·​e·​let ˈäm-lət How to pronounce omelet (audio)
ˈä-mə-
variants or omelette
: beaten eggs cooked without stirring until set and served folded in half
Her omelet had a filling of cheese, peppers, and meat.

Examples of omelet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Tapas on the menu at Bodega Biondi include meatballs, Italian beef sliders, gnocchi, Galician-style octopus and tortilla espanola, a Spanish-style omelet with potatoes, onion, romesco sauce and garlic aioli. Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 7 Mar. 2024 The menu offers breakfast favorites such as waffles, pancakes, omelets and more, including vegetarian and vegan options. Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 16 Feb. 2024 The menu is a mix of sophisticated and the-basics-done-right: think avocado toast, eggs Benedict, six different types of omelets and salmon towers that require a building permit. Laura Parker, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 Now, the same family dishes up omelets and waffles. Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Jan. 2024 Rounding out the banchan are pickled radishes, Korean omelets and broccoli drizzled in a semi-spicy sauce. Katie Moore, Kansas City Star, 19 Jan. 2024 The breakfast and lunch restaurant serves pancakes, waffles, scrambles, omelets and breakfast tacos and burritos. Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 8 Jan. 2024 Bar Santos is a classic line-up-and-know-what-to-order tapas bar that attracts crowds for its Spanish tortilla, a thick potato omelet. Andrew Ferren, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2023 The breakfast menu weekdays includes basic bacon-and-eggs, a brie omelet, oatmeal or a beef-and-eggs burrito. Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'omelet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French omelette, alteration of Middle French amelette, alemette, alteration of alemelle thin plate, ultimately from Latin lamella, diminutive of lamina

First Known Use

circa 1611, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of omelet was circa 1611

Dictionary Entries Near omelet

Cite this Entry

“Omelet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omelet. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

omelet

noun
om·​elet
variants also omelette
ˈäm-(ə-)lət
: beaten eggs cooked without stirring and served folded in half
Etymology

from French omelette "omelet," derived from early French amelette, alemette, altered forms of alemelle "omelet," literally, "knife blade, thin plate," derived from la lemelle (same meaning), derived from Latin lamella "a small thin metal plate," from lamina "a thin plate"

Word Origin
Although the word omelet bears little resemblance to Latin lamina, the shape of an omelet does resemble a thin plate, which is what lamina, the ultimate source of omelet, means. The Latin noun lamella, a diminutive form of lamina, became lemelle "blade of a knife" in medieval French. La lemelle "the blade" was misinterpreted as l'alemelle, and so the word gained an initial vowel. In later French, alemelle or alumelle was altered (by substituting the suffix -ette for the suffix -elle) into allumette, which acquired the meaning "dish made with beaten eggs" (such a dish resembling a thin plate or blade). After a later alteration to omelette the word found its way into English.

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