Preserved in a pot or jar, often referring to meat or plants. Can also mean intoxicated or drunk in informal usage.
From Middle English pot, from Old English pott, ultimately from Late Latin pottus. The preservation sense developed from the practice of storing cooked meats in pots covered with fat for preservation.
Potted meat was a crucial survival food before refrigeration, with the fat seal acting like nature's vacuum packaging. The slang meaning 'drunk' likely comes from the idea of being 'preserved' in alcohol, showing how culinary metaphors often become behavioral descriptions.
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