pottage

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑtɪd͡ʒ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɒtɪd͡ʒ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒtɪdʒ

Noun

pottage (countable and uncountable, plural pottages)

1. (archaic or historical) A thick soup or stew, made by boiling vegetables, grains, and sometimes meat or fish, a staple food throughout Europe in the Middle Ages.
   • 1357, John Mandeville, The Travels of Sir John Mandeville‎, modernized spelling edition:

     And they have not in many places, neither pease ne beans ne none other pottages but the broth of the flesh.

   • 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate, published 2010, page 328:

     He is a portly man, though he lives on pottage and mashes.

2. (archaic) An oatmeal porridge.
3. (Nigeria) A dish made by stewing plantain, beans, or yam in a tomato- and pepper-based sauce.

   Synonym: porridge

Derived terms

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

See also

• potage

Middle English

Noun

pottage

1. alternative form of potage