Catsup

/ˈkætsəp/ noun

Definition

A condiment made from tomatoes, vinegar, and spices, used as a sauce on food; a variant spelling and pronunciation of 'ketchup.'

Etymology

From Chinese 'ke-tsiap' meaning pickled fish brine, borrowed into English via Malay and Dutch traders in the 17th century; 'catsup' is an older English spelling variant.

Kelly Says

Catsup proves that English is basically a linguistic vacuum cleaner—this Chinese condiment traveled through Southeast Asian trade routes and arrived with multiple spellings, eventually settling into 'ketchup' but never forgetting 'catsup'!

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