gammon2 (gam on)

[Formerly sometimes gambone; And then came haltynge Jone, And brought a gambone Of bakon that was reast ye. Skelton , Elinor Rumming. At the same time 'twas always the Fashion for a Man to have a Gammon of Bakon, to show himself to be no Jew. Selden, Table-Talk, p. 33. The custom of eating a gammon of bacon at Easter is still [1827] maintained in some parts of England. Hone, Every-day Book, II. 439.