Etymology

egg white

Today it means: The clear fluid part of an egg surrounding the yolk, being mostly the protein albumin and water, which turns stiff and white when beaten or cooked. Full definition →

Middle English whit of an egge
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The story

  1. Middle English · derived fromwhit of an egge“white of an egg”
  2. English todayegg white

Probably a remodelled form of Middle English whit of an egge (“white of an egg”). Compare Old Norse eggja-hvíta (“egg-white”) (whence Icelandic eggjahvíta, Swedish äggvita, Danish æggehvide), Saterland Frisian Oaiwiet (“egg-white”), West Frisian aaiwyt (“egg-white”), Dutch eiwit (“egg-white”), German Low German Witt vun't Ei (“white of the egg”) beside Eiwitt (“egg-white”), German Eiweiß (“egg-white”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.