Etymologically
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bisque

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 12 October 2026 at 13:59. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /bɪsk/[1]

Etymology

Three words are spelled bisque.[2][3][4] The soup is borrowed from French bisque (“a kind of rich stew”),[2][5][6][3] of uncertain origin.[6][7][4] It has been said to come from French Biscaye (“Biscay”),[2][5] from a cooking pot,[6] from biscuit because the ingredients were cooked several times,[6] or from Norman dialect bisque “bad drink”.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A rich soup or stew, first spelled bisk (1647 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster; 1640s in Etymonline, meaning a soup pot).[5][3][6]

Semantic evolution

Early uses suggest that the word may first have been the name of the cooking pot, and it was sometimes rendered “tureen soup”.[6] The modern puréed soup, especially of shellfish such as crayfish, dates from the mid-19th century.[6][7] The spelling bisque is recorded from 1731.[5] A second word bisque, from French, is an advantage given to a weaker player, such as a point taken at will in real tennis (1611), an extra turn in croquet or a stroke in golf;[8][3][4] the French form biscaye has suggested a link with the Basques' skill at a kind of tennis.[9] A third bisque is a shortening of biscuit, unglazed white pottery or porcelain (1664),[8][5][6][3] which also gave the name of a pale pinkish-brown colour (1887 in Merriam-Webster Unabridged; 1922 in the OED).[10][8]

Timeline

  • 1611 – a free point in real tennis.[8]
  • 1647 – bisk, a rich soup.[5][3]
  • 1664 – unglazed pottery.[8][5][3]
  • 1731 – the spelling bisque.[5]
  • mid-19th century – a puréed soup.[6]
  • 1887 – a pinkish-brown colour.[10]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A thick, rich cream soup made from shellfish, meat or fish, or from puréed vegetables.
  2. Ice cream mixed with crushed macaroons or nuts.
  3. Unglazed white pottery or porcelain; biscuit.
  4. A pale pinkish-brown or orange-yellow colour.
  5. An advantage allowed a weaker player, such as a free point in tennis, an extra turn in croquet or an extra stroke in golf.
  • biscuit
  • chowder
  • consommé

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  10. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster