potpourri

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌpəʊ.pəˈɹiː/, /pəʊˈpʊə.ɹi/ (UK); /ˌpoʊ.pʊˈɹiː/, /ˈpoʊ.pʊˌɹiː/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French pot pourri (“rotten pot”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a loan translation of Spanish olla podrida,^[2][3][4][6] from pot “pot”^[2][3] and pourri, past participle of pourrir “to rot”,^[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *putrire,^[2][4] from Latin putrescere (“to grow rotten”).^[2][3][4] It is related to putrid.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A stew of mixed meats and vegetables cooked together (1611; 1610s in Etymonline).^[3][4][6]

Semantic evolution

The idea of a medley led to the sense of a fragrant mixture of dried flowers, herbs and spices kept to scent a room (1749).^[3][4][5] The figurative sense of a miscellaneous collection, first used in music, is recorded from 1855.^[4][6] The stew sense survives only as a rare use.^[1]

Timeline

• 1611 – a stew of mixed meats.^[3][4]
• 1749 – a mixture of dried petals and spices.^[3][4][5]
• 1855 – a miscellaneous collection, first in music.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A mixture of dried petals, herbs and spices used to scent the air.
2. A miscellaneous collection or medley, as of songs or writings.
3. A combination of unrelated things.
4. A stew of meat and vegetables.

Related words

• olla podrida
• putrid
• hodgepodge
• medley

References

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