dewlap
/ˈdu.læp/noun
dewlap is spelled D-E-W-L-A-P: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 146,811th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, dewlap means “The pendulous skin under the neck of an ox, or a similar feature on any other animal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dewlap is dewlaps.
How many letters and syllables are in dewlap?
| Letters | 6: D-E-W-L-A-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 23 million words; the 146,811th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is dewlap?
Dewlap appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 146,811th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dewlap?
- US /ˈdu.læp/
- US /ˈdju.læp/
- UK /ˈdjuː.læp/
Dewlap has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-dewlap.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of dewlap
- dewlaps plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dewlap mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The pendulous skin under the neck of an ox, or a similar feature on any other animal.
- 2
The sagging flesh on the throat of an elderly human.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dewlap in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense pendulous skin under the neck of an ox, or a similar feature on any other animal:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dewlap come from?
From Middle English dewlappe. The first element may be dew (and if not, seems to have been altered by folk etymology to resemble it); the second element is lap (“loose fabric”), Old English læppa (“a loose hanging piece”); compare jellop and jowlop (from jowl + lap), and dewclaw. Compare old Norwegian and Danish doglæp (the modern Danish word for "dew" is dug, but compare Old Norse dǫgg (“dew”) and Norwegian dogg). Old English instead terms such skin the frǣtlæppa (whence Middle English fresh-lappe).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).