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

For example, starting your day with an omelet made with cheese and spinach provides a total of 25 grams of protein. —Sandra Rose Salathe, Flow Space, 18 July 2024

The special breakfast hot dog, served only on Toki Underground’s anniversary, will wrap a beef frank in an omelet with cheese, kewpie mayonnaise, Japanese barbecue sauce and caramelized onions. —Amanda Yeager, Baltimore Sun, 3 July 2024

Menu items at the Brookfield location include a BLT Wedge, a seafood and asparagus omelet, and an espresso creme brulee for dessert. —Elaine Rewolinski, Journal Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2024

Seatings are at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. Buffet options includes freshly baked bagels, Danish pastries, fruit, omelets, waffles and ham carving station. —Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 20 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.