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Origin and history of fricassee

fricassee(n.)

1560s, from French fricassée, noun use of fem. past participle of fricasser "mince and cook in sauce" (15c.), which is of uncertain origin. Perhaps a compound from elements related to or altered by French frire "to fry" (see fry (v.)) and casser, quasser "to break, cut up" (see quash (v.)). As a verb, from 1650s.

also from 1560s

Entries linking to fricassee

fry(v.)

late 13c., "cook (something) in a shallow pan over a fire," from Old French frire "to fry" (13c.), from Latin frigere "to roast or fry," which is reconstructed to be from PIE *bher- "to cook, bake" (source also of Sanskrit bhrjjati "roasts," bharjanah "roasting;" Persian birishtan "to roast;" perhaps also Greek phrygein "to roast, bake").

The intransitive sense is attested from late 14c. The meaning "execute in the electric chair" is U.S. slang from 1929. Related: Fried; frying. Frying pan is recorded from mid-14c. (friing panne).

quash(v.)

the modern English word is a merger of two words, both in Middle English as quashen, from two unrelated Latin verbs.

1. "to suppress, overcome" (mid-13c.); "to make void, annul, nullify, veto" (mid-14c.), from Old French quasser, quassier, casser "to annul, declare void," and directly from Medieval Latin quassare, alteration of Late Latin cassare, from cassus "null, void, empty" (according to Watkins from extended form of PIE root *kes- "to cut"). The meaning "subdue, put down summarily" is from c. 1600.

2. "to break, crush, beat to pieces" early 14c., from Old French quasser, casser "to break, smash, destroy; maltreat, injure, harm, weaken," from Latin quassare "to shatter, shake or toss violently," frequentative of quatere (past participle quassus) "to shake." According to Watkins this is from PIE root *kwet- "to shake" (source also of Greek passein "to sprinkle," Lithuanian kutėti "to shake up," Old Saxon skuddian "to move violently," German schütteln "to shake," Old English scudan "to hasten").

In Medieval Latin, quassare often was used for cassare, and in later French the form of both words is casser. The words in English now are somewhat, or entirely, fused. Related: Quashed; quashing.

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