ketchup English · revision 174

5 Oct 2026, 22:11 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈkɛt͡ʃ.əp/, /-ʌp/^(Wiktionary)
+ 
  ==Etymology==
− First recorded in the 1680s,^(Etymonline) or c. 1690 according to Merriam-Webster.^(MW Collegiate) It is probably [[bor|ms|kecap|t=fish sauce]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary) possibly [[der|nan-hbl|膎汁|tr=kê-chiap|t=brine of pickled fish]].^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) The OED takes the Chinese word as the source, the Malay word perhaps being borrowed from it.^(OED 1989)
+ It is probably [[bor|ms|kecap|t=fish sauce]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary) possibly [[der|nan-hbl|膎汁|tr=kê-chiap|t=brine of pickled fish]].^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) The OED takes the Chinese word as the source, the Malay word perhaps being borrowed from it.^(OED 1989)
  
− Early English uses describe both an East Indian sauce of fruits and spices and something like anchovies or soy sauce.^(Etymonline) The spelling ''catsup'' first appears in a poem by Jonathan Swift in 1730.^(Etymonline)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ An East Indian sauce: early uses describe both a sauce of fruits and spices and something like anchovies or soy sauce.^(Etymonline) The American Heritage Dictionary describes the Malay ''kecap'' as a sauce of fish brine, herbs, and spices, without tomatoes.^(AHD)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The sauce seems to have reached Europe with sailors, and was made there with local ingredients such as mushroom or walnut juice;^(AHD) by the 1720s a homemade mushroom sauce was made in imitation of it.^(Etymonline) In the 18th and 19th centuries ''ketchup'' was a general term for sauces whose only common ingredient was vinegar,^(AHD) before the tomato version became the usual one.^(AHD)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1680s – first recorded.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1690 – as ''catchup''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1711 – as ''ketchup''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1730 – as ''catsup'', in a poem by Jonathan Swift.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A thick, seasoned sauce usually made from tomatoes and vinegar.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Any of various other sauces for meat or fish, such as mushroom ketchup.^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Usage notes==
+ ''Ketchup'' became the preferred American spelling because of the Heinz brand, which switched from ''catsup'' shortly after its introduction in 1876 to stand out from competitors;^(Wiktionary) Del Monte switched only in 1988.^(Wiktionary) All three spellings, ''ketchup'', ''catchup'', and ''catsup'', remain current.^(AHD)
  
  ==References==