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REFERENCE

pot

n. · v.
US //ˈpɑt// UK //pˈɒt// pot
  1. 1 cooking container (n.)
    A2 Elementary Cooking

    a deep, round container used for cooking food like soup or pasta.

    a deep, typically cylindrical vessel used for boiling or stewing food.

    Example

    She put a large pot of water on the stove to boil for the pasta.

    Example

    The chef simmered the stock in a heavy copper pot for several hours to develop a rich, complex flavour profile.
  2. 2 plant container (n.)
    A2 Elementary

    a container, often made of clay or plastic, used for growing plants.

    a container used for cultivating plants, typically made of earthenware or plastic.

    Example

    I need to move this flower to a bigger pot because it is growing fast.

    Example

    Terracotta pots are preferred by many gardeners because their porous nature allows the soil to breathe more effectively than plastic alternatives.
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  1. 3 gambling stakes (n.)
    B1 Intermediate Sport

    the total amount of money that players bet in a game like poker.

    the total pool of money or chips accumulated from bets that the winner of a hand or round receives.

    Example

    He won the entire pot with a lucky pair of aces on the final card.

    Example

    As the betting intensified, the pot grew to a size that made even the most experienced players visibly nervous.
  2. 4 marijuana (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Slang Informal

    a common informal name for the drug marijuana.

    a slang term for cannabis or marijuana.

    Example

    The smell of pot was coming from the apartment next door.

    Example

    The legalisation of pot in several jurisdictions has led to a significant shift in public health policy and tax revenue collection.
  3. 5 to plant in a container (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    to put a plant into a pot with soil.

    to plant or transplant a seedling or plant into a container.

    Example

    You should pot the herbs in the spring so they have room to grow.

    Example

    After the seedlings developed their second set of leaves, the gardener carefully potted them into individual containers.
  4. 6 to hit a ball into a hole (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate British English Sport

    to hit a ball into a pocket in games like snooker or pool.

    to strike a ball so that it falls into one of the pockets of a billiard or snooker table.

    Example

    He managed to pot the black ball and win the match.

    Example

    The player demonstrated remarkable precision by potting the final red from a nearly impossible angle across the table.
Etymology 1

From Middle English pot, potte, from Old English pott (“pot”) and Old French pot (“pot”) (probably from Frankish pott); both Old English and Frankish from Proto-Germanic puttaz (“pot”), from Proto-Indo-European *budnós (“a type of vessel”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Pot (“pot”), Dutch pot (“pot”), German Low German Pott (“pot”), German Pott (“pot”), Swedish potta (“chamber pot”), Icelandic pottur (“tub, pot”), Old Armenian պոյտն (poytn, “pot, earthen pot”). Also, Old Norse pottr (“pot, tub, basin”). The sense of ruin or deterioration was originally a general allusion to "being chopped up and tossed in a (normally fiery) pot, like a piece of meat" (i.e. to get wasted or done with (by someone)). The 'clean' slang term which was used in reference to toilet rooms and lavatories apparently derives from English chamberpots, although now usually encountered as potty in the context of children's toilet training.

Etymology 2

Possibly a shortened form of Mexican Spanish potiguaya or potaguaya (“cannabis leaves”), or potación de guaya (literally “drink of grief”), supposedly denoting a drink of wine or brandy in which marijuana buds were steeped, from pota + de + guaya (see guayar (“to lament”)).

Etymology 3

Clipping of potentiometer.

Etymology 4

Clipping of potion.

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