Katchup

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A thick, sweetened sauce made primarily from tomatoes, often used as a condiment on foods like fries and burgers ; a casual or mistaken variant spelling of a popular tomato-based seasoning ; a flavorful accompaniment that adds tang and sweetness to various dishes
2. A tomato-based sauce commonly employed to enhance the taste of fast foods ; an informal or erroneous form seen in place of the standard term for a sweet and tangy condiment ; a popular partner to snacks and sandwiches providing savory depth
3. A condiment consisting of cooked tomatoes, vinegar, and sugar blended into a smooth sauce ; a nonstandard spelling variation seen in some contexts referring to the familiar red sauce ; a versatile paste used to complement fried, grilled, or fried foods for added flavor

Etymology: The sauce did not begin as a tomato condiment. Its name comes from Hokkien Chinese "kê-tsiap", a fermented fish brine, which Malay speakers adapted as "kicap", a name for a salty fermented sauce. English-speaking traders and sailors who met these sauces in Southeast Asia brought the name home, and English cooks applied it to their own savoury sauces made from ingredients such as mushrooms and walnuts. Tomatoes were added to these sauces only later. In North America, cooks gradually made them the main ingredient, and the tomato version eventually displaced the older sauces. The name survived the change, so "katchup" is an old spelling variant of the same word, now mostly written "ketchup".