ketchup

Etymology

First recorded in the 1680s,^[1] or c. 1690 according to Merriam-Webster.^[2] It is probably borrowed from Malay kecap (“fish sauce”),^[3][2][4] possibly from Hokkien 膎汁 (kê-chiap, “brine of pickled fish”).^[5][4] The OED takes the Chinese word as the source, the Malay word perhaps being borrowed from it.^[5]

Early English uses describe both an East Indian sauce of fruits and spices and something like anchovies or soy sauce.^[1] The spelling catsup first appears in a poem by Jonathan Swift in 1730.^[1]

References

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