dewlap

UK: /ˈdjuːˌlæp/ US: /ˈduˌlæp, ˈdju-/ ,(do̅o̅′lap′, dyo̅o̅′-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

dew•lap /ˈduˌlæp, ˈdyu-/   n. [countable]

1. Zoology a loose, hanging fold of skin under the throat of an animal.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

dew•lap  (do̅o̅′lap′, dyo̅o̅′-), n. 

1. Zoology a pendulous fold of skin under the throat of a bovine animal.
2. Zoology any similar part in other animals, as the wattle of fowl or the inflatable loose skin under the throat of some lizards.

• 1350–1400; Middle English dew(e)lappe, apparently dewe dew + lappe lap¹; compare Danish dog-læp, Dutch (dialect, dialectal) dauw-zwengel; literal sense is unclear

dew′lapped′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

dewlap / ˈdjuːˌlæp/ noun

1. a loose fold of skin hanging from beneath the throat in cattle, dogs, etc
2. loose skin on an elderly person's throat

Etymology: 14th Century dewlappe, from dew (probably changed by folk etymology from an earlier form of different meaning) + lap¹ (from Old English læppa hanging flap), perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish doglæp