Cooked

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /kʊkt/

Definitions

1. Subjected to heat to induce changes that render food safe and tasty for eating
2. Processed using thermal methods to enhance flavor and make food suitable for consumption
3. Prepared by applying heat to food, resulting in a safe and flavorful dish

Etymology: "Cooked" is the past tense and past participle of "cook", so its history is really the history of the verb. "Cook" comes from Old English "cōc", borrowed from Latin "coquere", meaning to cook or ripen by heat. The adjective simply uses the verb's past form to describe food that has been heated and prepared. The adjective sense is the one that carries the most surprise. Once something is cooked, it has been transformed, so the same form that describes an action completed in the past now describes a state, as in "cooked vegetables" or "a cooked meal." Speakers did not need a separate word for food that had been heated; the finished verb did the job.

Synonyms: prepared, heated, done, baked, boiled

Antonyms: raw, uncooked, fresh, unprepared, chilled