Etymology Map
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Porridge

3 stages from Frankish to English.

Today it means a hot dish of oats boiled in milk or water

Where does the word "porridge" come from? It comes from Frankish pot, passing through Old French before entering English (1500s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
pot
Frankish · ancient
"cooking pot"
a Germanic word for a cooking vessel, which gave French 'potage', what is cooked in a pot
2
Stage 2 of 3
potage
Old French · medieval
"thick soup"
vegetables or meat stewed in a pot
3
Stage 3 of 3
porridge
English · 1500s
"vegetable soup"
'potage' became 'pottage', then 'porridge'; oat porridge dates from the 1600s, and British slang 'doing porridge' means prison time
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Read the full story

Porridge’s story begins in Frankish: pot meant “cooking pot.” A Germanic word for a cooking vessel, which gave French 'potage', what is cooked in a pot. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as potage. Vegetables or meat stewed in a pot. It reached English by 1500s as porridge. 'potage' became 'pottage', then 'porridge'; oat porridge dates from the 1600s, and British slang 'doing porridge' means prison time. Today, porridge means a hot dish of oats boiled in milk or water.