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Today it means

saute

to fry food quickly in a small amount of hot fat while stirring or tossing

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Where does the word "saute" come from? It comes from French sauter, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "saute" come from? It comes from French sauter, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).

Saute’s story begins in French: sauter meant “to jump.” The root of 'somersault'. It reached English by 1800s as saute. French past participle 'sauté', jumped. Today, saute means to fry food quickly in a small amount of hot fat while stirring or tossing.

  1. Stage 1 · French · medieval sauter "to jump", the root of 'somersault'.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1800s saute "to fry quickly in a small amount of hot fat", French past participle 'sauté', jumped.

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