Dictionary

pottage en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈpɑtɪd͡ʒ/ (General-American)
• /ˈpɒtɪd͡ʒ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English pottage, from Anglo-Norman and Old French potage, equivalent to pot + -age.

Meanings

1. (archaic, countable, historical, uncountable) A thick soup or stew, made by boiling vegetables, grains, and sometimes meat or fish, a staple food throughout Europe in the Middle Ages.
   • And they have not in many places, neither pease ne beans ne none other pottages but the broth of the flesh. 1357, John Mandeville, The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, modernized spelling edition:
   • He is a portly man, though he lives on pottage and mashes. 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate, published 2010, page 328:
2. (archaic, countable, uncountable) An oatmeal porridge.
3. (Nigeria, countable, uncountable) A dish made by stewing plantain, beans, or yam in a tomato- and pepper-based sauce.

Forms

Deriveds

plum pottage · mess of pottage · pottinger · pease pottage · sell one's birthright for a mess of pottage

Relateds

potage

Synonyms

porridge