- scallop (n.)
- "bivalve mollusk," c.1400, from Old French escalope "shell," variant of eschalope, probably from a Germanic source (cf. Old Norse skalpr "sheath," Middle Dutch schelpe "shell"); see scale (n.1). Extended 17c. to objects shaped like scallop shells, especially in design and dress. The verb in the cookery sense, "to bake in a scallop shell-shaped pan," is attested from 1737. Related: Scalloped; scalloping.