chutney

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈt͡ʃʌtni/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Hindi चटनी (caṭnī),^[2][3][4] which Etymonline says is from a word meaning “to lick”.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first named a strong relish of fruits, acids or sour herbs flavoured with chillies and spices, from the East Indies.^[6][5]

Semantic evolution

Its meaning has stayed close to the original,^[2][4] although Wiktionary also records it for a style of Indo-Caribbean music.^[1]

Timeline

• 1813 – first recorded.^[5][6][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A spicy relish of fruit, herbs and spices, often both sweet and sour.
2. A style of Indo-Caribbean music.

References

1. [1] [2] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. [1] [2] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. [1] [2] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. [1] [2] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. [1] [2] [3] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. [1] [2] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press