omelet

noun

om·​e·​let ˈäm-lət 

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

There’s a notable brunch with omelets, migas, waffles and a breakfast calzone. —Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Apr. 2024

Buffet menus vary at each location but include classics like chicken piccata, pasta, omelet station, Dearborn ham, salads, and more. —Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 20 Mar. 2024

Food options include bowls, toasts, wraps, omelets, sandwiches and pastries. —The Arizona Republic, 4 Mar. 2024

One scene that required she delicately make an omelet spilled over into her real life. —Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024

This local franchise is your casual stop for everything brunch, from omelets, to breakfast burritos to mimosas. —Katie Toussaint, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024

Eat them as a side dish or add them to omelets, salads, pasta, tacos, and more. —Cynthia Sass, Mph, Health, 13 Apr. 2024

The Farmhouse Restaurant at Fair Oaks Farms A special Easter brunch buffet, with multiple sittings, features French toast, a carving station with prime rib, ham, Atlantic salmon and omelets. —The Indianapolis Star, 27 Mar. 2024

The buffet includes carving and omelet stations, desserts and cocktail specials, and there will be an Easter egg hunt. —Elaine Rewolinski, Journal Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2024

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

Phrases Containing omelet

• Denver omelet
• Spanish omelet
• western omelet

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.