zuppa, n.

zuppa
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zuppa_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1986; not fully revised

# zuppanoun

## Earlier version

- zuppa in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zuppa mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zuppa. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

#### Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

### How common is the noun zuppa?

About 0.02occurrences per million words in modern written English

2017 | 0.0026
2018 | 0.0028
2019 | 0.0027
2020 | 0.0036
2021 | 0.0036
2022 | 0.0025
2023 | 0.0023
2024 | 0.0022

### How is the noun zuppa pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈtsuːpə/
TSOO-puh
/ˈzuːpə/
ZOO-puh

#### U.S. English

/ˈtsupə/
TSOO-puh
/ˈzupə/
ZOO-puh

### Where does the noun zuppa come from?

Earliest known use

1960s

The earliest known use of the noun zuppa is in the 1960s.

OED's earliest evidence for zuppa is from 1961, in the writing of Wynford Vaughan-Thomas.

zuppa is a borrowing from Italian.

### Nearby entries

1. Zulu, v. 1882–
2. Zuludom, n. 1867–
3. Zulu hat, n. 1879–
4. Zuluize, v. 1852–
5. Zulu time, n. 1959–
6. zumbador, n. 1758–64
7. zumbi, n. 1704–
8. zumboorukchee, n. 1840–
9. Zuñi, n. 1834–
10. zunyite, n. 1885–
11. zuppa, n.1961–
12. Zurich, n. 1870–
13. Zuricher, n. 1673–
14. zurla, n. 1940–
15. zurlite, n. 1826–
16. zurna, n. 1870–
17. zurr, n. 1803–
18. zussmanite, n. 1965–
19. zut, int. 1915–
20. zuur-veldt, n. 1785–
21. zuz, n. 1688–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Italian.
Italian.

## Meaning & use

1. 1961–
   Soup. Usually in combinations, esp. as zuppa di pesce, fish soup. Also transferred and figurative in zuppa inglese [lit. ‘English soup’] , a rich trifle.
   1. [1935

      > Zuppa di fagioli alla fiorentina (Haricot Bean Soup à la Florentine).

      ‘Countess Morphy’, Recipes of All Nations 124 (heading) ]
   2. 1961

      > The tourists eat their zuppa di pesce in the restaurants on the quayside.

      W. Vaughan-Thomas, Anzio xi. 231
   3. 1962

      > We ordered the Zuppa di Lenticchie.

      L. Deighton, Ipcress File xvi. 95
   4. 1975

      > My favourite culinary term, ‘zuppa inglese’, the Italian's idea of a sickly English trifle.

      F. Bresler, You & Law 77
   5. 1976

      > A true Italian zuppa di pesce.

      Times 10 July 10/8
   6. 1977

      > One way and another, [the book is] a zuppa inglese, heavy with leftovers and alcoholic seasonings.

      Listener 10 February 189/2
   7. 1981

      > We'd decided on Zuppa inglese for pud... Who can resist trifle in hooch?

      ‘J. Gash’, Vatican Rip xii. 101
   food and cooking
   1. broth Old English–
      The liquid in which anything has been boiled, and which is impregnated with its juice; a decoction; esp. that in which meat is boiled or…
   2. pottage?c1225–
      A thick soup or stew, typically made from vegetables, pulses, meat, etc., boiled in water until soft, and usually seasoned. Cf. potage, n.
   3. pulment a1325–1704
      Pottage, gruel.
   4. soup a1325–
      A (usually savoury) liquid food made by boiling meat, fish, vegetables, etc., with seasoning in stock or water, and frequently served as a first…
   5. hotchpot 1381–
      = hotchpotch, n. A.2.
   6. sew c1386–1645
      Pottage, broth; a mess of pottage. (Cf. fig-sue, n.)
   7. worts c1390–1560
      In plural. A thick soup or stew made from vegetables, pulses, meat, etc. Obsolete.
   8. long worts c1440–75
      (Probably) uncut greens or herbs, or a thick soup or stew made from these (cf. sense 1b).
   9. poddish 1528–
      = pottage, n., porridge, n.; (now chiefly) oatmeal porridge.
   10. porridge?1533–
       A thick soup made by stewing vegetables, herbs, or meat, often thickened with barley, pulses, etc. Cf. plum porridge, n.
   11. hotchpotch 1567–
       Cookery. A dish containing a mixture of many ingredients; spec. a thick soup of barley, peas, and other vegetables, and sometimes meat. Also: a…
   12. sowp a1568
       Early Scottish variant of soup, n.
   13. potage 1653–
       Soup, esp. a thick soup typically made from vegetables, meat, etc. Cf. pottage, n.
   14. bouillon 1656–
       Broth, soup.
   15. soupe 1767–
       Soup; usually with defining addition, as soupe à l'oignon (onion soup), etc.
   16. pot-au-feu 1841–
       A large traditional French cooking pot; a dish or recipe associated with this, esp. a thick soup of meat and vegetables. Also figurative.
   17. shackles 1888–
       Broth, soup, or stew.
   18. zuppa 1961–
       Soup. Usually in combinations, esp. as zuppa di pesce, fish soup. Also transferred and figurative in zuppa inglese, a rich trifle.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. fish Old English–
      As a modifier (in sense 2), designating meals, dishes, or ingredients containing fish, as in fish chowder, fish curry, fish dinner, fish soup, fish…
   2. fish broth a1450–
      a. A broth or stock made from fish; †b. humorously seawater (obsolete).
   3. coulis 1603–
      Originally: a broth, jelly, or gravy made from the juices of roasted or grilled meat; = cullis, n.¹ (now historical and rare). Now usually: a thick…
   4. bisque 1715
      A rich soup typically made from several different kinds of stewed meat, game bird, or fish and a large number of other ingredients in a spiced broth…
   5. anchovy-cullis 1725–33
      A savoury broth or sauce made with anchovies.
   6. shrimp gumbo 1805–
      A shrimp soup thickened with okra pods.
   7. lobster bisque 1895–
      A thick cream soup made of lobster; hence, the colour of this soup.
   8. ukha 1911–
      A Russian fish soup.
   9. zuppa di pesce 1961–
      Soup. Usually in combinations, esp. as zuppa di pesce, fish soup. Also transferred and figurative in zuppa inglese, a rich trifle.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. pionade 1302–10
      A sweet food, a confection (perhaps containing peony seeds).
   2. spinee 1381–1430
      A dish or confection flavoured with hawthorn flowers.
   3. pokerounce a1450–
      A sweetmeat consisting of toast spread with hot spiced honey.
   4. strawberry cream 1523–
      Designating a confection or drink in which strawberries are an ingredient or flavouring, as †strawberry ale, strawberry water, strawberry wine; straw…
   5. pannag 1540–
      Perhaps: millet; a kind of cake or bread made with millet.
   6. alkermes 1547–
      The dried bodies of scale insects (females of Kermes ilicis and K. vermilio, family Kermesidae), found in the Mediterranean region on the kermes oak…
   7. sugar-bread 1587
      A species of confectionery.
   8. snow 1597–
      Applied to various things or substances having the colour or appearance of snow. Cookery. A dish or confection resembling snow in appearance, esp…
   9. flammick 1600
      A confection made with butter, eggs, and cheese.
   10. Norfolk fool 1623–
       A cold dessert, resembling a trifle, consisting of layers of sliced manchet (manchet, n. 1a) and spiced custard, with a decorative sweet topping…
   11. fool 1653–
       A dessert consisting of mashed or pureed fruit mixed with custard or (now typically) whipped cream, and served cold. Originally in gooseberry fool, n.…
   12. chocolate cream 1702–
       Originally: a creamy chocolate dessert, typically made by boiling milk with sugar, eggs, chocolate, and sometimes other ingredients; cf. cream, n.²…
   13. meringue 1706–
       A light mixture of stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar, baked until crisp; a shell or other item of confectionery made of this mixture, typically…
   14. curd puff 1723–
       A light baked confection made from curds mixed with eggs, flour, and sugar and typically flavoured with spices and sweet wine.
   15. steeple cream 1747–69
       A cream (cream, n.² 2a) fashioned into a form pointed at the top.
   16. trifle 1755–
       A cold dessert, typically consisting of sponge biscuits or cake (often soaked in fortified wine or liqueur) layered with fruit, jelly, custard, and…
   17. snowball 1769–
       Cookery. One or other of various dishes or confections intended to resemble a ball of snow in appearance.
   18. sweet bread 1777–
       A sweet-tasting bread, pastry, cake, or biscuit. Cf. pan dulce, n.
   19. marrangle 1809–26
       = meringue, n.¹
   20. meteor 1820
       A kind of Italian meringue, probably formed into a shape suggesting that of a meteor. Obsolete.
   21. mimpins 1820
       A kind of confectionery or sweet pastry.
   22. brandy snap 1828–
       A small, crisp pastry tube flavoured with ginger and usually filled with cream. Also as a mass noun.
   23. Nesselrode 1835–
       More fully Nesselrode cream, Nesselrode pie, Nesselrode pudding. An iced dessert made with chestnuts, cream, preserved fruits, etc., and…
   24. cocoa sweetmeat 1836–
       Confectionery made using or flavoured with cocoa; an item of this.
   25. meringué 1845
       A dish composed of fruit and meringue.
   26. Swiss cream 1845–
       A type of trifle.
   27. turban 1846–
       Cookery. (See quot. 1909: perhaps only as French.)
   28. coconut cream 1847–
       a. A type of confectionery or dessert made or flavoured with coconut; b. thick coconut milk which has a cream-like consistency (cf. coconut milk, n.…
   29. chocolate kiss 1850–
       A small chocolate cake or piece of confectionery; (now) esp. one consisting of chocolate formed into a conical shape; cf. kiss, n. 3.
   30. grasshopper pie 1856–
       a. A pie or dish made with grasshoppers; spec. crushed grasshoppers and berries formed into a cake, eaten by some Indigenous peoples of North…
   31. cottage pudding 1857–
       A dessert consisting of cake covered in a sweet sauce.
   32. panforte 1865–
       A rich confection originating in Siena, Italy, containing nuts (properly almonds), candied peel, honey, and spices baked to form a hard, round, flat…
   33. sugar skull 1867–
       A decorative representation of a human skull or skeleton, originally crafted from sugar but now also sometimes from clay, made for or associated…
   34. yokan 1875–
       In Japanese cookery: a jellied dessert or confection made typically from a thick red-bean paste, sugar, and agar, formed into a solid block and eaten…
   35. Eton mess 1896–
       A dessert consisting of whipped cream, pieces of meringue, and fruit (typically strawberries), traditionally associated with Eton College.
   36. bombe surprise 1901–
       A rounded or dome-shaped dessert comprising an outer shell of ice cream, sometimes covered with a layer of chocolate or baked meringue, concealing a…
   37. meringue Chantilly 1901–
       A meringue filled with Chantilly cream. Also meringue à la Chantilly. Also figurative.
   38. streusel 1909–
       A crumb-like topping for cakes and pastries made from fat, flour, cinnamon, and sugar; a confection with such a topping. Frequently attributive…
   39. rocky road 1920–
       Originally U.S. Also with capital initials. A flavour of ice cream, or type of cake, dessert, or confectionery, typically made with a mixture of…
   40. ringocandy 1922–
       A kind of candied confection. Also figurative.
   41. stem ginger 1922–
       A superior grade of crystallized or preserved ginger.
   42. dulce de leche 1923–
       Originally in South American (esp. Argentinian) cuisine: sweet, caramelized milk, often served as a spread or sauce.
   43. kissel 1924–
       A sweet dish made from fruit juice mixed with sugar and water, which is boiled and thickened with potato or cornflour.
   44. some-more 1925–
       A dessert or snack consisting of toasted marshmallows and chocolate between graham crackers; = s'more, n.²
   45. cream-crowdie 1929–
       = cranachan, n. (cf. crowdie, n. 2).
   46. Pavlova cake 1929–
       Originally Pavlova cake. A dessert consisting of a soft-centred meringue base or shell filled with whipped cream and fruit (sometimes with other…
   47. s'more 1934–
       A dessert or snack consisting of toasted marshmallows and chocolate sandwiched between graham crackers, typically served outdoors, with the…
   48. cranachan 1946–
       A dessert typically made with whipped cream, whisky, oatmeal, honey, and berries (esp. raspberries).
   49. sugar-on-snow 1947–
       A delicacy made by pouring hot maple syrup on snow (snow, n.¹ II.5a).
   50. calavera 1948–
       An item of confectionery shaped to resemble a human skull, made for or associated with the Mexican celebration, Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead).
   51. suji halwa 1955–
       A kind of dessert made with suji.
   52. vacherin 1960–
       A confection of meringue and whipped cream.
   53. dorayaki 1961–
       A Japanese confection consisting of two small pancakes sandwiching a sweet filling, typically adzuki bean paste.
   54. zuppa inglese 1961–
       Soup. Usually in combinations, esp. as zuppa di pesce, fish soup. Also transferred and figurative in zuppa inglese, a rich trifle.
   55. brûlée 1966–
       A dessert of custard topped with caramelized sugar; = crème brûlée, n.
   56. pav 1966–
       = pavlova, n.
   57. delice 1967–
       Any of various rich desserts typically featuring a thick layer of mousse or light, creamy filling. Frequently with modifying word indicating the…
   58. chocolate salami 1968–
       An Italian and Portuguese dessert typically made with eggs, sugar, (dark) chocolate, and crumbled biscuits (also occasionally with rum, port…
   59. banoffi 1974–
       attributive. Designating any of various desserts consisting of bananas and soft toffee (made with caramelized condensed milk); originally and…
   60. macaroon 1985–
       A confection consisting of two small, round (usually colourful) biscuits with a meringue-like consistency, made with egg white, sugar, and powdered…
   61. salara 1985–
       In Guyanese cookery: a type of sweet bread made with a white yeast dough, spread with a filling of sweetened and spiced coconut dyed a vibrant red…
   62. Nanaimo 1991–
       = Nanaimo bar, n. rare.
   63. macaron 1993–
       A confection consisting of two small, round (usually colourful) biscuits with a meringue-like consistency, made with egg white, sugar, and…
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈtsuːpə/
TSOO-puh
/ˈzuːpə/
ZOO-puh

### U.S. English

/ˈtsupə/
TSOO-puh
/ˈzupə/
ZOO-puh

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Frequency

zuppa typically occurs about 0.02 times per million words in modern written English.

zuppa is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zuppa, n., 1960–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1960 | 0.014
1970 | 0.014
1980 | 0.015
1990 | 0.015
2000 | 0.017
2010 | 0.019

### Frequency of zuppa, n., 2017–2024

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the corpus.

Period | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
2017 | 0.0026
2018 | 0.0028
2019 | 0.0027
2020 | 0.0036
2021 | 0.0036
2022 | 0.0025
2023 | 0.0023
2024 | 0.0022

zuppa, n. was first published in 1986; not fully revised.

zuppa, n. was last modified in September 2023.