sushi en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- so͞osh'i (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈsʉʃi/ (Northern-Ireland, Scotland)
- /ˈsʉʃɪ/ (Northern-Ireland, Scotland)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈsuːʃi/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈsuʃi/ (Canada, General-American)
- /ˈsʉʃe/ (Northern-Ireland, Scotland)
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 寿司(すし) (sushi, “sushi (sour rice)”), ultimately from archaic conjugation 酸(す)し (sushi, “sour, vinegared”) of modern adjective 酸(す)い (sui, “sour, vinegared”).
Meanings
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(uncountable, usually) A Japanese dish made of small portions of sticky white rice flavored with vinegar, usually wrapped in seaweed and filled or topped with fish, vegetables or meat.
Not long ago a newspaper reporter came to interview me on the subject of unusual foods, and I described to him the persimmon-leaf sushi made by the people who live deep in the mountains of Yoshino—and which I shall take the opportunity to introduce to you here.
1977 [1933], 谷崎潤一郎 [Jun'ichirō Tanizaki], translated by Thomas J. Harper and Edward G. Seidensticker, In Praise of Shadows, Sedgwick, ME: Leete's Island Books, translation of 陰翳礼讃 [In'ei Raisan] (in Japanese), →ISBN, page 40:Suzuributa.—Mashed fish, eggs, 'sushi' of shrimps, plum cake, black mushroom, plum, and finely cut orange.
1879 October 4, W. H. Patterson, “Japanese Cookery”, in Notes and Queries, volume s5-XII, number 301, London: John Francis, →DOI, page 263:He went to a Japanese restaurant and ordered sushi and noodles.
As Trevor Corson, author of “The Story of Sushi” explains, in Japan, sushi is typically eaten at a bar, where it’s customary for the customer to chat with the chef, who can recommend what’s in season. The short window during which the fish is fresh also makes it more likely to be tastier in Japan.
2023 June 15, Rebecca Wallwork, “‘You had to be there’: Foods that taste better on home turf”, in CNN:I lived in New York all my life. We used to have Chinese restaurants, ltalian restaurants. Now you have these sushi restaurants. Everyone goes for sushi. Sushi—I hate the stuff. Although, I tell you, I had some the other day. I took it home, I cooked it, it wasn't bad. It tasted like fish.
1985, Leora Barish, Desperately Seeking Susan, spoken by Taxi Driver:To appreciate sushi, you have to forget the tastes and textures that come with Western cuisine. At first glance (or should I say taste?), a sushi of flounder will not be that different from a sushi of sea bream. But, for the Japanese, these two sushi are as different as roast beef and roast pork are for a Westerner.
2004, Chihiro Mazui, Kazuko Masui, “Introduction”, in Sushi Secrets, London: Hachette Illustrated, →ISBN, page 12:For the vegetarians, she served cucumber sushi.
-
(countable, rare, usually) One of the portions from this dish.
I reach out and pop a sushi into my mouth while I’m waiting for someone to answer a question.
1997, Jeffrey A. Kottler, “Focusing on People”, in Travel That Can Change Your Life: How to Create a Transformative Experience (Jossey-Bass Psychology Series), San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass Publishers, →ISBN, page 92:You will recall that, contrary to the relative appearance of the words, the sashimi are the simple raw fish slices and the sushi are the rolls of rice and raw fish.
1983 May 31, Robert Nadeau, “Restaurant: Gyuhama of Japan: Suit yourself with sushi”, in Richard M. Gaines, editor, The Boston Phoenix, volume XII, number 22, Boston, Mass.: Boston Phoenix Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, section 2, page 10, column 3:Startled by the venom, Erik almost dropped a sushi into his mixture of soy sauce and wasabi.
2009 September 14, Frank Penater, “Undercover”, in The Gene Card, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 161:Rusty put a sushi in her palm. / Mary Kate popped it into her mouth. It tasted salty and crunchy. “Cucumber!” she said. / “My grandmother puts a surprise in the middle of each one,” said Rusty.
1989, Jean Marzollo, chapter 5, in The Green Ghost of Appleville (39 Kids on the Block; 1), New York, N.Y.: Scholastic Inc., →ISBN, page 42:
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(proscribed, uncountable, usually) Raw fish, especially as a Japanese dish.
'Can't eat sushi?' I said. Then Mom said, 'You can't eat uncooked fish when you're pregnant' as if I'm the one stupid enough to go and get pregnant!
2012, Alison Acheson, Molly's Cue, page 26:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| sushi | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| sushis | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
southern sushi · sushi burrito · sushi-go-round · sushi pizza · sushilike · sushi train · sushi belt · sushi rice · conveyor belt sushi · sushify · sushi-meshi · sushi grade · sushi terrorism · tongue sushi · sushirrito · nonsushi · sushi knife
Relateds
California roll · nigiri · sushi roll · kimbap · sashimi
Translations (103)
ca sushi (Japanese dish) · be су́шы (Japanese dish) · lv suši (Japanese dish) · fa-ira سوشی (Japanese dish) · pt sushi (Japanese dish) · ms susyi (Japanese dish) · uk су́ші (Japanese dish) · bn সুশি (Japanese dish) · it sushi (Japanese dish) · cmn 壽司 /寿司 (Japanese dish) · es sushi (Japanese dish) · uz sushi (Japanese dish) · ta சூசீ (Japanese dish) · tg суши (Japanese dish) · da sushi (Japanese dish) · nan-hbl 臭酸飯 /臭酸饭 (Japanese dish) · mk су́ши (Japanese dish) · mt suxi (Japanese dish) · hy սուշի (Japanese dish) · ja すし (Japanese dish) · is sushi (Japanese dish) · pa ਸੁਸ਼ੀ (Japanese dish) · cy swshi (Japanese dish) · jv sushi (Japanese dish) · id sushi (Japanese dish) · sco sushi (Japanese dish) · nan-hbl 壽司 /寿司 (Japanese dish) · lt sušis (Japanese dish) · ko 초밥 (Japanese dish) · ne सुसी (Japanese dish) · my ဆူရှီ (Japanese dish) · fi sushi (Japanese dish) · eo suŝio (Japanese dish) · id susyi (Japanese dish) · tk suşi (Japanese dish) · et suši (Japanese dish) · kn ಸುಶೀ (Japanese dish) · pl sushi (Japanese dish) · cs suši (Japanese dish) · tr suşi (Japanese dish) · nv łóóʼ binááʼádaałtsʼózí deiyánígíí (Japanese dish) · sq sushi (Japanese dish) · sw sushi (Japanese dish) · bar Suschi (Japanese dish) · fr sushi (Japanese dish) · de Sushi (Japanese dish) · hi सूशी (Japanese dish) · te సుశీ (Japanese dish) · az suşi (Japanese dish) · khb ᦌᦳᦌᦲ (Japanese dish) · ur سُوشی (Japanese dish) · sl suši (Japanese dish) · ta சுசீ (Japanese dish) · el σούσι (Japanese dish) · fo sushi (Japanese dish) · tl sushi (Japanese dish) · sv sushi (Japanese dish) · th ซูชิ (Japanese dish) · ru су́ши (Japanese dish) · hi सुशी (Japanese dish) · bo ཧྲོའུ་སི (Japanese dish) · nan-hbl 醋飯箍 /醋饭箍 (Japanese dish) · km ស៊ូស៊ី (Japanese dish) · am ሱሺ (Japanese dish) · cmn 日本壽司 /日本寿司 (Japanese dish) · fi suši (Japanese dish) · gu સુશી (Japanese dish) · te సూశీ (Japanese dish) · sk suši (Japanese dish) · nl sushi (Japanese dish) · ka სუში (Japanese dish) · nci sushi (Japanese dish) · ko 스시 (Japanese dish) · mr सुशी (Japanese dish) · yue 壽司 /寿司 (Japanese dish) · lo ຊູຊິ (Japanese dish) · ar سُوشِي (Japanese dish) · io sushi (Japanese dish) · ky суши (Japanese dish) · sh sȕši (Japanese dish) · hu szusi (Japanese dish) · vi sushi (Japanese dish) · nv łóóʼ tʼáá tʼéehgo bił asdisígíí (Japanese dish) · kk суши (Japanese dish) · pa ਸੂਸ਼ੀ (Japanese dish) · he סוּשִׁי (Japanese dish) · ja 寿司 (Japanese dish) · ur سُشی (Japanese dish) · ru су́си (Japanese dish) · sh су̏ши (Japanese dish) · si සුෂි (Japanese dish) · kn ಸೂಶೀ (Japanese dish) · hak 壽司 /寿司 (Japanese dish) · ga súisí (Japanese dish) · eu sushi (Japanese dish) · gl sushi (Japanese dish) · ro sushi (Japanese dish) · br sushi (Japanese dish) · yi סושי (Japanese dish) · mr सूशी (Japanese dish) · ml സുഷി (Japanese dish) · nb sushi (Japanese dish) · bg су́ши (Japanese dish)