Table of Contents
The word for today is…
gumbo (noun) -
1: a soup thickened with okra pods or filé and containing meat or seafoods and usually vegetables
2: okra
3a: any of various fine-grained silty soils especially of the central U.S. that when wet become impervious and soapy or waxy and very sticky
b: a heavy sticky mud
4: mixture, mélange
Source : Merriam-Webster
Etymology : Gumbo refers to an aromatic soup of the Creole cuisine of Louisiana, combining African, Indigenous North American, and European elements. It takes its name from the American French word gombo, which in turn is of Bantu origin and related to the Umbundu word ochinggômbo, meaning “okra.” Okra usually plays a starring role in gumbo as a thickener (unless the soup is thickened by filé, powdered young sassafras leaves) alongside the holy trinity of celery, onion, and bell pepper, and any number of additional ingredients, from seafood (shrimp, crab, or oysters) to meat (chicken, sausage, duck, or game) to leafy greens. The variety of ingredients and ways to prepare the dish eventually led to the figurative sense of gumbo referring to a variety, mixture, or mélange of things, as in “a gumbo of ideas.”
If you enjoyed this Good Oil word of the day please consider sharing it with your friends and, especially, your children.
