pot-au-feu

See also: pot au feu

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French pot-au-feu.

Noun

pot-au-feu (usually uncountable, plural pot-au-feus or pots-au-feu)

1. A thick soup of meat and vegetables cooked together in a large pot.
   • 1824, Thomas Gill, The Technical Repository, page 180:

     The meat and vegetables for our pot-au-feu cost only twelve sous, or sixpence sterling — a cheap dish indeed!

2. A large cooking pot.
   • 1839, “Parisian characteristics”, in Bentley's Miscellany, page 203:

     The chez la portiere is its imitation, en petit; every homely subject is there discussed, from the pot au feu to another sort of pot.

Translations

soup

• Japanese: ポトフ (potofu)

French

FWOTD – 22 April 2016

Etymology

Literally, “pot on the fire”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɔ.to.fø/, /po.to.fø/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

pot-au-feu m (plural pot-au-feu)

1. hotpot; meat and vegetables cooked together in a large pot
   • 1798, Nicolas-Joseph Sélis, editor, Dictionnaire de l'Académie Françoise, volume 2, page 332:

     On dit, Pot-au-feu, en parlant de la quantité de viande destinée à être mise dans le pot.

     One says pot-au-feu, in reference to the meat put into the pot.

2. a cooking pot
   • 11 October 1673, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Lettres (1646-1696):

     Je mets le pot-au-feu avec de la chicorée amère; cela bout jusqu’au point du jour.

     I put the pot on the fire with bitter chicory at the break of day.

Adjective

pot-au-feu (invariable)

1. Who prefers to remain at home; stay-at-home, homebody

   Synonym: casanier

Further reading

• “pot-au-feu”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.