ketchup
UK[ˈketʃ.əp]US[ˈketʃ.əp]
n
a thick, cold, usually red sauce made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, and spices, used to give flavor to food.
Etymology
the word 'ketchup' entered english in the late 17th century from the malay word 'kicap' or 'kecap', meaning 'fish sauce'. this, in turn, was borrowed from the southern min chinese word 'kôe-chiap' or 'kê-chiap', which referred to a brine of pickled fish or shellfish. english traders encountered this condiment in southeast asia and brought it back to europe. the original asian sauce was often made from fermented fish, but over time in britain and america, the recipe evolved, with tomatoes becoming the primary ingredient by the 19th century, leading to the modern tomato-based sauce we know today.
Analysis
the word 'ketchup' is a simplex loanword. it does not contain separable morphemes in its modern english form.
Examples
he always puts ketchup on his french fries.
this recipe calls for a tablespoon of tomato ketchup.
the bottle of ketchup was nearly empty.