Etymology
How many definitions for poutine are there?
Poutine
The "Dictionnaire historique du français québécois" lists 15 different meanings of "poutine" in Quebec and Acadian French, most of which are for kinds of food; the word "poutine" in the meaning "fries with cheese and gravy" is dated to 1978. Other definitions of the word have been in use at least since 1810. While the exact provenance of the word ""poutine"" is uncertain, some of its meanings undoubtedly result at least in part from the influence of the English word "pudding". Among its various culinary senses, that of "a dessert made from flour or bread crumbs" most clearly shows this influence; the word "pouding", borrowed from the English "pudding", is in fact a synonym in this sense. The pejorative meaning "fat person" of "poutine" (used especially in speaking of a woman) is believed to derive from the English "pudding" "a person or thing resembling a pudding" or "stout, thick-set person". In other meanings of "poutine", the existence of a relation to the English word "pudding" is uncertain. One of these additional meanings — the one from which the name of the dish with fries is thought to derive — is "unappetizing mixture of various foods, usually leftovers." This sense may also have given rise to the meaning "complicated business, complex organization; set of operations whose management is difficult or problematic. "The "Dictionnaire historique" mentions the possibility that the form "poutine" is simply a gallicization of the word "pudding". However, it considers it more likely that it was inherited from regional languages spoken in France, and that some of its meanings resulted from the later influence of the similar-sounding English word "pudding". It cites the Provençal forms "poutingo" "bad stew" and "poutité" "hodgepodge" or "crushed fruit or foods"; "poutringo" "mixture of various things" in Languedocien; and "poutringue", "potringa" "bad stew" in Franche-Comté as possibly related to "poutine". The meaning "fries with cheese and gravy" of "poutine" is among those held as probably unrelated to "pudding" provided the latter view is correct.