English Explanatory Dictionary

dumpling

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A ball of dough that is cooked and may have a filling and/or additional ingredients in the dough.
  2. Specifically, a ball of dough used in stews and other sauced dishes; a thick noodle.
  3. Specifically, a food composed of a dough wrapper around a filling.
  4. A term of endearment.
  5. A piece of excrement.

Pronunciation

/ˈdʌmp.lɪŋ/ en-us-dumpling.ogg

Word forms

dumpling dumplings

Etymology

A folk word, first attested in c. 1600s, apparently from a Norfolk (East Anglian) dialect, of uncertain origin: * perhaps from some Low German word (compare dümpeln (“bobbing up and down”)), * or from the rare dialectal adjective dump (“lump, of the consistency of dough”) (first attested in the late 1800s), + -ling (diminutive suffix), although dumpling is recorded much earlier. However, compare dumpy (“short and stout”).

Synonyms

dumpling

Related words

canederlo gnocchi dim sim dim sum empanada har gow pierogi varenyky pelmeni quenelle ravioli shaomai shumai wonton

Derived words

apple dumpling apple-dumpling shop Chinese dumpling clootie dumpling crotch dumpling dumpling-depot dumpling squid dumplingy hump dumpling Norfolk dumpling North Dumpling Island potato dumpling raspberry dumpling rice dumpling soup dumpling yeast dumpling
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