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

Choose from dishes like the brisket omelet, avocado toast, or homemade cheddar biscuits served with sausage gravy. —Ronny Maye, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025

Breakfast can symbolize an entire nation: the full English, the French omelet, Belgian waffles. —Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 5 May 2025

Egg Dishes Fold turmeric into scrambled eggs or add the spice to frittatas, omelets, and quiche. —Jillian Kubala, Health, 24 Mar. 2025

Whisk eggs and salt together at least 15 minutes before cooking your omelet. —Catherine Jessee, Southern Living, 16 May 2025

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

Rhymes for omelet

• omelette

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.