What does edgebone mean?
Edgebone is a traditional butcher's name for a cut of beef taken from the round — the upper leg and rump region of the animal — where the meat lies close against the hip bone. By extension, the term can also denote that hip bone itself in a dressed carcass of beef or mutton. The cut is relatively lean and firm, which makes it well suited to roasting, braising, or salting, and it has long appeared in British and American cookery under this name. Although 'edgebone' sounds as though it describes some sharp border of the animal, the spelling is in fact an alteration of 'aitchbone', the standard modern form, which descends from Middle English 'nache-bone' — 'nache' being an old word for the buttocks, borrowed from French and ultimately from Latin 'natis'. Today 'edgebone' survives mainly in older recipes, regional usage, and traditional trade vocabulary, lending any text that uses it a distinctly old-world, butcher-shop character.
nounA cut of beef taken from the round or rump of the animal, adjoining the hip bone; by extension, the hip bone itself in a carcass of beef or mutton.
- A cut of beef from the animal's round or rump, lying against the hip bone.
- The hip bone of a beef or mutton carcass.
"The butcher recommended a rolled edgebone for the Sunday roast."
"For the banquet she ordered a whole edgebone, slow-roasted with rosemary and garlic."
"The carver sliced the edgebone thinly across the grain to keep the meat tender."
Regular plural; typically used when referring to multiple cuts or carcasses.
"The shop stocked several edgebones for the holiday season."
Despite its name, there's nothing about an 'edge' in edgebone — the word began life centuries ago as 'nache-bone', from an old French word for buttock, before English speakers reshaped it into something more familiar.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of edgebone
Edgebone is a folk-etymological alteration of 'aitchbone', the standard form of the word. The original term was Middle English 'nache-bone', in which 'nache' meant buttock or haunch, borrowed from Old French and ultimately derived from Latin 'natis', meaning buttock. Because 'nache' fell out of ordinary use, English speakers gradually reinterpreted the unfamiliar first element — first as 'hache-', then 'aitch-', and by analogy with familiar vocabulary, 'edge-'. The word thus preserves a fossil of medieval French anatomy inside an apparently transparent English compound.
How edgebone is actually used
'Edgebone' is now chiefly a traditional or regional butcher's term; most contemporary butchers and cookbooks prefer 'aitchbone' or simply refer to the cut as part of the beef round. The word carries an old-fashioned, tradesman's flavor.
Easily confused with edgebone
Aitchbone is simply the standard modern spelling of the same word; 'edgebone' arose as a folk-etymological alteration of it.