gravy

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɡɹeɪvi/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English grave, gravey,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French gravé (“seasoned broth or sauce”).^[2][4][3] The Old French word is probably a misreading, with u (v) for n, of grané “sauce, stew”,^[2][5][6] a cooking term formed from grain “seed, spice”,^[5][6] ultimately from Latin grānum (“grain, seed”) or grānātus “full of seeds”.^[5][2][6] Medieval English recipes for gravy and French recipes for grané are practically identical, which supports this explanation.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A spiced dressing or sauce for white meats, fish and vegetables, made with broth and almond milk (c. 1390).^[7][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The medieval gravy was a spiced stew or sauce;^[4][7] from the late 16th century the word was applied to the fat and juices that come out of meat during cooking, and to a sauce made from them.^[7] In the early 20th century American slang it came to mean money gained easily or unexpectedly,^[7][6] hence the phrase gravy train.^[7] In Italian-American English it is also used for tomato sauce (by 1978), translating Italian sugo.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1390 – a spiced dressing for white meats and fish.^[7][5]
• 1591 – the juices and fat from cooking meat; a sauce made from them.^[7]
• 1747 – compounds such as gravy-boat.^[7]
• 1905–10 – slang, money easily or dishonestly obtained (Random House).^[6]
• 1910 – an unearned or unexpected bonus, also in gravy train.^[7]
• 1978 – tomato sauce, in Italian-American use.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The juices that drip from meat during cooking.
2. A sauce made by thickening and seasoning these juices.
3. (slang) Money or benefit gained easily, or beyond what is expected; also, money gained dishonestly, graft.

Word family

• gravy boat
• gravy train
• milk gravy
• red-eye gravy

Related words

• grain
• pomegranate
• garnet

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press