spitchcock

The noun is derived from Middle English spiche-coke (“eel split lengthwise and broiled”).[1] The further etymology is uncertain;[2][3] the following possibilities have been suggested:

• From Middle English *speche, *spiche (“to split”) + cock, coken (“to allow (something) to cook; to cook”)[4][5] (from cok (“person who cooks food, cook”),[6] from Old English cōc (“a cook”), from Vulgar Latin *cocus, from Latin coquus (“a cook”), from coquō (“to cook”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- (“to cook; to ripen”)).
• From spik (“animal fat, especially lard”)[7] (from Old English spiċ (“bacon; lard”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *spēy- (“to stretch; to succeed, thrive”)), spik, spike (“large nail; pointed stud”)[8] (possibly from Old Norse spík, spíkr (“nail”), also ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *spēy-), or spit, spite (“rod for cooking meat, spit; pointed object”)[9] (from Old English spitu, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“sharp point; stick”)) + cok (“male of the common domestic fowl, cock, rooster”)[10] (from Old English coc, cocc, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kukkaz (“cock, rooster; chicken”) and of imitative origin).

The verb is probably derived from the noun.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈspɪt͡ʃkɒk/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈspɪt͡ʃˌkɑk/
• Hyphenation: spitch‧cock

spitchcock (plural spitchcocks) (cooking)

1. (obsolete) A method of cooking an eel (or occasionally some other fish) by splitting it along the back, cutting it into pieces, and broiling or frying it. [late 16th – 18th c.]
2. (by extension, archaic or obsolete) An eel (or other fish) prepared in this way. [from early 17th c.]

• spatchcock (possibly)

spitchcock (third-person singular simple present spitchcocks, present participle spitchcocking, simple past and past participle spitchcocked)

1. (transitive, cooking, archaic or obsolete) To cook (an eel, or occasionally some other fish) by splitting it along the back, cutting it into pieces, and broiling or frying it.