lard meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

lard

noun

UK /lɑːd/ · CA, US /lɑɹd/

Etymology From Middle English lard, from Old French lard (“bacon”), from Latin lārdum, lāridum (“bacon fat”).

Fat from the abdomen of a pig, especially as prepared for use in cooking or pharmacy.

Lard mixed with crushed and strained garlic has been used as an erotic ointment.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 135:

Obsolete Fatty meat from a pig; bacon, pork.

Slang Excess fat on a person or animal.

My wonderful partner is fond of pointing out that he and I have done the Covid crisis on easy mode: we have no children, no caring responsibilities, […] we have a fabulous community of people at our local fitness studio to keep the lockdown lard at bay and the cats love joining us for afternoon naps.2020, Sophie Ranald, Thank You, Next: A perfect, uplifting and funny romantic comedy:

Derived terms: 30 terms
Amerilard, bald as a bladder of lard, enlard, interlard, lardaceous, lardarse, lard-arse, lardass, lard-ass, lardassed, lard-assed, lardball, lardboy, lardbucket, lard-bucket, lardbutt, lard down, lardhead, lardless, lardlike, lardon, lardoon, lard up, lardy, lardy cake, leaf lard, tubbalard, tubba lard, tub of lard, unlarded

verb

Etymology From Middle English larden, from Old French larder and Medieval Latin lārdō.

7 senses

Cooking, Food, Lifestyle To stuff (meat) with bacon or pork before cooking.

To smear with fat or lard.

In his buff doublet larded o'er with fat / Of slaughtered brutes.1740, William Somervile, Hobbinol:

To distribute, garnish or strew, especially with reference to fatty or greasy things or words or phrases in speech and writing.

The first notice came from — of course — a Trump tweet, after his meeting with Barr on the question of voter fraud allegations in the 2020 election. Barr made a point of noting the topic in his resignation letter, which was larded with slavish praise for the president's accomplishments in the face of what Barr called "relentless, implacable resistance."2020 December 15, Harry Litman, “There's no getting around William Barr's dishonorable record”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 Sep 2022:

To fatten; to enrich.

[The oak] with his nuts larded many swine.1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Februarie. Aegloga Se[c]unda.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Iohn Wolfe for Iohn Harrison the yonger, […], →OCLC:
Falstaff sweats to death, / And lards the lean earth as he walks along.c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

To mix or garnish with something, as by way of improvement; to interlard.

Larded with sweet flowers; Which bewept to the gravec. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v]:
Let no alien Sedley interpose / To lard with wit thy hungry Epsom prose.1709, J[ohn] Dryden, J[ohn] Oldham, “(please specify the page)”, in Mac Flecknoe: A Poem. […] With Spencer’s Ghost: Being a Satyr Concerning Poetry. […], London: […] H[enry] Hills, […], →OCLC:

To embellish with unnecessary frills; to pad.

Ultimately, the plans were rejected by Senate leadership, Cruz told reporters, after he and a number of others objected. "That proposal did not carry the day," Cruz said. "Those $350bn in tax increases are not in the bill ... and larding the bill up with new tax increases would have been going the wrong direction."2017 December 2, Lauren Gambino, “Senate Republicans pass sweeping overhaul of US tax code”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Jul 2023:
Volkswagen avoided the fins and other frills with which U.S. manufacturers larded their vehicles. Instead, the company and its advertising agency, Doyle Dane Bernbach, promoted "our philosophy of a car that doesn't change for the reason of change, only for the benefit of the consumer," Mr. Hahn said at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2011.2023 January 18, Sam Roberts, “Carl Hahn Dies at 96; Made the VW Beetle Ubiquitous”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 Jan 2023:

Obsolete To grow fat.