soup
n. · v.-
1 liquid food (n.) A1 Beginner Cookinga liquid food made by boiling meat, vegetables, or fish in water.
a liquid food preparation typically served warm, made by combining ingredients such as meat or vegetables with stock, juice, or water.
ExampleShe made a big pot of vegetable soup for lunch on the rainy afternoon.
ExampleThe chef prepared a chilled gazpacho soup, blending ripe tomatoes with cucumbers and peppers to create a refreshing starter for the summer menu.
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2 thick mixture (n.) B2 Upper Intermediate Informala thick or messy mixture of different things, like chemicals or mud.
a thick, liquid mixture or substance, often used to describe chemical solutions or dense atmospheric conditions like heavy fog.
ExampleThe thick fog was like a pea soup, making it impossible to see the road.
ExampleThe industrial runoff had turned the local pond into a toxic soup of chemicals and heavy metals, prompting an immediate environmental investigation.
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3 primordial soup (n.) C1 Advanced Academic Technical Sciencethe mixture of chemicals that scientists believe started life on Earth.
the rich mixture of organic compounds in the Earth's early oceans from which life is hypothesized to have originated.
ExampleScientists study how the first cells formed in the primordial soup billions of years ago.
ExampleThe theory suggests that lightning strikes provided the energy necessary to spark chemical reactions within the primordial soup of the early Hadean eon.
- primordial ooze
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4 developing film (v.) C2 Proficiency Technical Slang Photographyto process photographic film using chemicals.
to develop photographic film by immersing it in a series of chemical solutions.
ExampleHe spent the whole night in the darkroom souping the rolls of film from the wedding.
ExampleThe photographer preferred souping his own black-and-white negatives to ensure total control over the contrast and grain of the final prints.
The noun is from Middle English soupe, sowpe, from Old French soupe, souppe, sope, from Late Latin suppa (“sopped bread”), from Proto-Germanic *supô (compare Middle Dutch sope (“broth”)). Doublet of sop and zuppa. See also sup and supper. The verb is from the noun.
From Middle English soupen, from Old English sūpan (“to sup, sip”), from Proto-Germanic *sūpaną. More at sup.
From Middle English soupe, from Old English sūpe (“sup; draught”).
From Middle English swopen, from Old English swāpan (“to sweep”), from Proto-Germanic *swaipaną (“to sweep”). More at sweep.
From Middle English soupen, suppen, from Anglo-Norman super, from supe, soupe (“soup”) + -er (verb-forming suffix).