Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A mottling or streaking that resembles marble.
  • noun The process or operation of giving something the surface appearance of marble.
  • noun The decorative imitation of marble patterns printed on page edges and endpapers of books.
  • noun Flecks or thin strips of fat, especially when evenly distributed in a cut of meat.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The art or process of variegating in color, in imitation of marble, or with veins and cloudings of any sort.
  • noun Any marking resembling that of veined or variegated marble; hence, any mottling, veining, or clouding of a surface: as, the marbling of flesh-meat caused by alternations of fat and lean.
  • noun The art or practice of staining paper or the cut edges of a book with variegated colors, usually in some conventional imitation of marble.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The art or practice of variegating in color, in imitation of marble.
  • noun An intermixture of fat and lean in meat, giving it a marbled appearance.
  • noun (Zoöl.) Distinct markings resembling the variegations of marble, as on birds and insects.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Present participle of marble.
  • noun A mottled or streaky appearance
  • noun The process of adding such an appearance, especially as a decoration

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the intermixture of fat and lean in a cut of meat

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The more "marbling" - the amount of fat distributed evenly among the muscle - the higher the grade from the United States Department of Agriculture.

    STLtoday.com Top News Headlines 2009

  • More tender cuts of meat have white streaks of fat, called marbling, throughout.

    THE TANTE MARIE’S COOKING SCHOOL COOKBOOK MARY RISLEY 2003

  • More tender cuts of meat have white streaks of fat, called marbling, throughout.

    THE TANTE MARIE’S COOKING SCHOOL COOKBOOK MARY RISLEY 2003

  • More tender cuts of meat have white streaks of fat, called marbling, throughout.

    THE TANTE MARIE’S COOKING SCHOOL COOKBOOK MARY RISLEY 2003

  • A bull named Yasufuku was one of the most important and famous sires in the history of breeding Wagyu cattle due to his contributions to the improvement of the quality of marbling, which is a major characteristic of Wagyu beef.

    PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles 2009

  • For example, if breeds of cattle with high amounts of intramuscular fat, which is known as marbling, are closely related to each other, then they likely share the same gene variations to create the marbling, which is a trait some beef consumers prefer.

    Kansas City infoZine Headlines 2009

  • Frantzen's boars are Berkshires, a specialty breed that yields a darker, juicier meat with more fat (or "marbling") than the Pork Board would like you to know about.

    A Tale Of Two Hogs 2007

  • The style of painting floors called "marbling," hardly yet extinct, was a survival of this custom.

    The New England Magazine Volume 1, No. 3, March, 1886 Bay State Monthly Volume 4, No. 3, March, 1886 Various

  • These co-workers of mine have also helped me find reputable meat processors and even offered to grain feed this animal if I so chose to go that route in order to get that "marbling" effect.

    Denver Post: News: Breaking: Local Perfect Moment Monday: Indulgences | Weebles Wobbl 2010

  • The waiter said that what made the cut of meat so desirable was its "marbling," a euphemism for fat.

    More! Dan Coughlin 2010

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