haggis

noun hag·gis \ ˈha-gəs \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of haggis

: a traditionally Scottish dish that consists of the heart, liver, and lungs of a sheep or a calf minced with suet, onions, oatmeal, and seasonings and boiled in the stomach of the animal

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Recent Examples of haggis from the Web

Not that there's anything particularly wrong with it (with the possible exception of the haggis bonbons, which are wrong in several ways).

— jason wilson, chicagotribune.com, "What I learned about America's future from visiting Trump resorts around the world," 14 Mar. 2018
The Old Kiln Cafe serves up hearty Scottish delicacies, from haggis in pepper sauce to traditional Clootie dumplings (pudding made with fruit and spices).

— nate erickson, Esquire, "There Are Eight Reasons to Visit This Scottish Island. All of Them Are Booze.," 8 Mar. 2018
Meanwhile in Scotland, people have been drooling over haggis for centuries.

— katie jackson, Esquire, "9 Things to Get from the Butcher That Aren’t Meat," 18 Jan. 2018
In the morning, take in views of the sea and the ongoings of distillery life from your humble abode, then go on and seize the day—or at least some haggis.

— natalie b. compton, GQ, "Here's Your 2018 Travel Bucket List," 14 Dec. 2017
Celebrate your summit of Ben Nevis with a whiskey or craft beer and vegetarian haggis (or the real deal) at the Ben Nevis Inn & Bunkhouse, at the base of the trail (ben-nevis-inn.co.uk).

— anna russell, WSJ, "A Keats-Inspired Tour of Scotland, From Pubs to Peaks," 13 July 2017
Until then, maybe try your hand at making haggis wontons at home.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "Gung Haggis Fat Choy: This Canadian Celebration Combines Robert Burns Night and Chinese New Year," 25 Jan. 2017
Hollywood is making the biggest changes: Being hung, drawn and quartered will turn out to be nothing more than a bad dream for Braveheart after a questionable dish of haggis.

— joe queenan, WSJ, "Coming Soon: Happy Endings for Every Tale," 28 Sep. 2017
His menu of British delights includes five types of fish paired with chips (peeled by King himself), the Scottish specialty haggis, mushy peas, deep-fried Mars Bars and more.

— OregonLive.com, "Downtown Portland's 10 best food carts," 12 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'haggis.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of haggis

Middle English hagese

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First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined above

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HAGGIS Defined for English Language Learners

haggis

noun

Definition of haggis for English Language Learners

: a Scottish dish made from the organs of a sheep that are chopped up, mixed with suet, onions, oatmeal, and seasonings, and boiled in the stomach of the sheep