bacon (English)

Where does "bacon" come from?

The English word 'bacon' derives from the Middle English 'bacoun' which meant 'meat from the back and sides of a pig'[1][2]. This term reached Middle English via Anglo-Norman, originating ultimately from the Frankish form '*bakō' meaning 'ham' or 'flitch'[1][2][4]. This Frankish word stems from the Proto-Germanic '*bakô' meaning 'back', which is related to the English word 'back'[1][3]. These Germanic roots are thought to descend from the Proto-Indo-European '*bʰeg-' which referred to the 'back' or 'buttocks' and carried a sense of vaulting or arching[1][3]. The modern slang usage of 'bacon' to refer to 'police' is a later semantic extension derived from the slang term 'pig'[1].

Open questions

The derivation of the Proto-Germanic root '*baką' from the Proto-Indo-European '*bʰeg-' is considered a possibility rather than a certainty. [3]

Full etymology tree

bacon (English), 'Cured meat from the sides, belly, or back of a pig.'
- inherited bacoun (Middle English), 'Cured meat from the back and sides of a pig; bacon.'
  - borrowed bacon (Anglo-Norman)
    - derived *bakō (Old Low Frankish)
      - inherited *bakô (Proto-Germanic)
        derived *baką (Proto-Germanic), 'back, rear'
        inherited *bʰeg- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to break'

Ancestors

bacoun (Middle English)
*bʰeg- (Proto-Indo-European)

Cognates and doublets

Bache (German)

Descendants and derived words

бекон (Bulgarian)
培根 (Chinese)
培根 (Chinese)
back bacon (English)
bacon and cabbage (English)
bacon and eggs (English)
bacon beetle (English)
baconburger (English)
bacon butty (English)
baconed (English)
baconer (English)
bacon explosion (English)

Sources

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris