Editing Offal (section)

==Etymology and terminology==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2016}}
The word shares its etymology with several Germanic words: [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] ''{{Lang|fy|ôffal}}'', German {{Lang|de|Abfall}} ({{Lang|de|Offall}} in some Western German dialects and Luxembourgish), ''afval'' in Dutch and [[Afrikaans]], ''avfall'' in Norwegian and Swedish, and {{Lang|da|affald}} in Danish. These Germanic words all mean "garbage/rubbish" or "waste" or—literally—"off-fall", referring to that which has fallen off during butchering. However, these words are not often used to refer to food except for Afrikaans in the [[agglutination]] {{Lang|af|afvalvleis}} (lit. "off-fall-flesh"), which does indeed mean offal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://maroelamedia.co.za/resepte/bykosse/resep-stampmielies/ |title=Resep: Stampmielies |date=6 February 2014|publisher=Maroela Media |access-date=2016-01-08}}</ref> For instance, the German word for offal is {{Lang|de|Innereien}} meaning innards and the Swedish word is ''{{Lang|sv|inälvsmat}}'' literally meaning "inside-food". According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word entered Middle English from Middle Dutch in the form ''{{Lang|enm|afval}}'', derived from ''af'' (off) and ''vallen'' (to fall).

It is not related to the English word ''awful'', which originally meant "inspiring [[awe]]," then shifted meaning to "terrifying" and then to "very bad."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/awful|title=awful &#124; Etymology of awful by etymonline|website=www.etymonline.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deseret.com/1999/10/10/19469751/originally-awful-meant-inspiring-awe/|title=Originally, 'awful' meant 'inspiring awe'|date=October 10, 1999|website=Deseret News}}</ref>

Organ meat is typically referred to with established terms used for other edible parts of the animal, such that the heart of a cow would be known as [[beef]] heart, while that of a pig would be known as [[pork]] heart.