If you need an English word that can refer to either a combination of food items or a random assortment of things, there's no shortage of options on the menu. If you're in the mood for a stew, there's hodgepodge (formerly "hotchpotch"), olla podrida, or gallimaufry. Perhaps you'd rather start with a palate cleanser, like macédoine or salmagundi. We also have gumbo or jambalaya, if Southern cooking is more your thing, or smorgasbord if you prefer words of Swedish descent. Then there's ragout, which comes from French ragoûter, meaning "to revive the taste," and ultimately from Latin gustus, meaning "taste."
the movie is an uncertain ragout of fantasy, science fiction, and old-fashioned romance
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During the Napoleonic wars, invading soldiers introduced French ragout to Italy.—Claudia Alexander, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2025 Via Vite The Easter buffet at Via Vite includes a mix of breakfast offerings and classic Italian dishes, such as scrambled eggs, French toast with berries compote, handmade crispy gnocchi, and Italian sausage and bean ragout.—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 11 Mar. 2024 This might go down alongside the rustic pappardelle with wild boar ragout at Forno as one of my favorite pasta dishes in town.—Keith Pandolfi, The Enquirer, 19 Jan. 2024 Escargots arrive in a ragout of eggplant puree, crisp julienne trumpet mushrooms, and a suggestion of bacon and cumin.—Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 27 Nov. 2023 See All Example Sentences for ragout
Word History
Etymology
French ragoût, from ragoûter to revive the taste, from Middle French ragouster, from re- + a- ad- (from Latin ad-) + goust taste, from Latin gustus; akin to Latin gustare to taste — more at choose
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