Definitions

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

  • noun Introduction of nutritive material into the stomach by means of a tube.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A system of fattening poultry for market by forcing them to swallow fixed quantities of food at stated intervals.
  • noun In medicine, a similar method of forced feeding, employed under certain conditions.

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

  • noun Forced feeding (as of poultry or infants) by means of a tube passed through the mouth down to the stomach.

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

  • noun A process of force-feeding a goose for foie gras
  • noun A process of force-feeding cattle for veal
  • noun medicine Feeding by means of a tube passed into the stomach
  • verb To stuff or glut with something

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

  • noun feeding that consists of the delivery of a nutrient solution (as through a nasal tube) to someone who cannot or will not eat

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from gaver, to force down the throat, ultimately from Old French gave, throat, from Vulgar Latin *gaba.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French gavage, from gaver ("to stuff or cram")

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Examples

  • A foie gras liver balloons to six to 10 times the size of the organ in a normal duck or goose, and the reason it grows so fatty is a process known as gavage.

    The Foie Gras Wars Mark Caro 2009

  • Although the force-feeding, known as gavage, isn't exactly a warm and fuzzy process, Caro witnesses it at several farms in the United States and France and comes away thinking that it isn't horrible.

    Who Moved My Skull and Crossbones? 2009

  • A foie gras liver balloons to six to 10 times the size of the organ in a normal duck or goose, and the reason it grows so fatty is a process known as gavage.

    The Foie Gras Wars Mark Caro 2009

  • They are brought in for the gavage, which is when they were shown on the video.

    How foie gras is made | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D. 2008

  • The reasons usually just boil down to the gavage, which is the force feeding.

    Dan Barber's foie gras parable 2008

  • The reasons usually just boil down to the gavage, which is the force feeding.

    Dan Barber's foie gras parable 2008

  • The reasons usually just boil down to the gavage, which is the force feeding.

    Dan Barber's foie gras parable 2008

  • To animal welfare groups, the obscenity of force-feeding, known by the French word gavage, is self-evident.

    Is foie gras evil? Ann Althouse 2005

  •   Kelley says that after the sea turtles have been rescued, they are cleaned and treated - including what's called a 'gavage' of mayonnaise and cod liver oil that will help purge their digestive system of oil.

    As Oil Ebbs, the Turtles Return 2010

  • The 'gavage' accentuates the process, fattening ducks for a 12 to 15 day period, and geese for about 15 to 18 days.

    Brad Haskel: Foie Gras: Something to Think About 2010

Comments

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  • The future of food. Don't put the stuff in your mouth, unless you like the flavor of Tasty Wheat...

    January 17, 2008

  • Eeeeeeeeew - thanks, sionnach!

    January 17, 2008