saute
UK[ˈsəʊteɪ]US[soʊˈteɪ]
v
To fry food quickly in a small amount of hot oil or fat, typically while stirring or tossing it.
n
A dish of food cooked by sautéing.
adj
(of food) Quickly fried in a small amount of hot oil or fat.
Etymology
The word 'saute' is a direct loanword from the French past participle 'sauté', meaning "jumped" or "bounced". This derives from the French verb 'sauter', which in turn comes from the Latin 'saltare', a frequentative form of 'salire' meaning "to leap". The culinary sense is a metaphorical extension, vividly describing the action of tossing food in a hot pan, causing it to "leap" or "jump". Thus, the modern abstract cooking technique retains the lively, dynamic imagery of its Latin root.
Analysis
The entire word is a single, unsegmentable morpheme borrowed from French. It functions as a verb, noun, and adjective in English.
Examples
Saute the onions in olive oil until they are translucent.
The menu featured a chicken saute with mushrooms and white wine.
For a quick dinner, she prepared sauteed spinach with garlic.