gumbo

¹

[ guhm-boh ]

noun

, plural gum·bos.

1. a stew or thick soup, usually made with chicken or seafood, greens, and okra or sometimes filé as a thickener.
2. okra.
3. soil that becomes sticky and nonporous when wet.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or like gumbo.

Gumbo

²

[ guhm-boh ]

noun

, (sometimes lowercase)

1. a French patois spoken by Black and Creole people in Louisiana and the French West Indies.

Gumbo

¹

/ ˈɡʌmbəʊ /

noun

1. sometimes not capital a French patois spoken by Creoles in Louisiana and the Caribbean

gumbo

²

/ ˈɡʌmbəʊ /

noun

1. the mucilaginous pods of okra
2. See okra
   another name for okra
3. a soup or stew thickened with okra pods
4. a fine soil in the W prairies that becomes muddy when wet

Word History and Origins

Origin of gumbo¹

1795–1805, Americanism; < Louisiana French gombo, gumbo < a Bantu language; compare Umbundu ochinggombo, Luba chinggombo okra

Origin of gumbo²

First recorded in 1835–40; probably from the same source as gumbo ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of gumbo¹

see gumbo

Origin of gumbo²

C19: from Louisiana French gombo, of Bantu origin

Example Sentences

Climate projections show that gumbo weather could become a thing of the past.

From FiveThirtyEight

The paneed rabbit, a star on the opening menu, has been replaced by breaded skate wing, but rabbit is destined to flavor the fall gumbo.

From Washington Post

They most often made the dish with a rich brown gravy or roux, much more akin to a gumbo.

From Eater

Cashion’s filé-forward, roux-less gumbo had us scraping the bottom of the bowl.

From Washington Post

There was Cajun music, and she served gumbo, and it was an amazing scene.

From Washington Post

Lena Richard was a black caterer and owner of the Gumbo House who published New Orleans Cookbook in 1940.

From The Daily Beast

The cafeteria style stop is basically a comfort food joint—think baby back ribs, shrimp and grits, and gumbo—done well.

From The Daily Beast

So people stayed home and cooked big pots of red beans and gumbo.

From The Daily Beast

It was all there: the military, the Constitution, the Bible—the whole Republican gumbo.

From The Daily Beast

Spoon the rice into the center of the gumbo, and sprinkle each serving with green onions and parsley.

From The Daily Beast

We cleared the gumbo cut west of the Beaver at a pretty good clip, in order to make the grade on the other side.

From Project Gutenberg

Chicken gumbo soup is one of the most popular dishes of this kind.

From Project Gutenberg

Probably its chief use is as an ingredient in soups, when it is known as gumbo.

From Project Gutenberg

The creoles have introduced a new variety of their own called gumbo.

From Project Gutenberg

I done made a mess er chicken gumbo fer dinner and some er them lil bits er thin biscuit.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bouillon
• chowder
• porridge
• puree