succotash

[ suhk-uh-tash ]

noun

1. a cooked dish of kernels of corn mixed with shell beans, especially lima beans, and, often, with green and sweet red peppers.

succotash

/ ˈsʌkəˌtæʃ /

noun

1. a mixture of cooked sweet corn kernels and lima beans, served as a vegetable

Word History and Origins

Origin of succotash¹

First recorded in 1745–55, Americanism; from Narragansett ( English spelling) msíckquatash “boiled whole kernels of corn,” cognate with Eastern Abenaki ( French spelling) mesikoutar; further origin uncertain, perhaps equivalent to Proto-Algonquian mesi⋅nkwete⋅wali (unattested), from mes- “whole”+ -i·nkw- “eye” (hence, “kernel”) + -ete·- “be cooked” + -w- + -ali plural suffix (all morphemes unattested)

Word History and Origins

Origin of succotash¹

C18: from Narraganset msiquatash, literally: broken pieces

Example Sentences

And in the book “Our Auntie Rosa,” her family shared recipes their aunt prepared for them, including cornbread silver dollar griddle cakes, succotash, chicken and dumplings, fruit compote, and lemonade.

From Washington Post

While traditionally a Southern dish, it wasn’t until I was 16, visiting family in Virginia, that I finally tasted succotash.

From Seattle Times

Simmering okra for succotash, a dish that celebrates peak-summer produce, brings chunky slices to full tenderness.

From New York Times

“Get it straight. She has to say succotash first. It wouldn’t be much of a code if you told her what it was.”

From Literature

“That’s why, particularly in the journalistically flush 1980s, the local newspaper that would on all other days thud onto your driveway like a sack of wet succotash, would, on Mondays, settle like a leaf.”

From Washington Post