natto

[ not-oh ]

noun

, Japanese Cooking.

1. a dish of fermented cooked soybeans, often eaten for breakfast over white rice or with toppings such as soy sauce and mustard.

Word History and Origins

Origin of natto¹

First recorded in 1870–75; from Japanese, from na(t)- (ultimately from Middle Chinese; cognate with Cantonese naap, Mandarin nà “to bring into, receive”) + tō “bean” ( bean ( def ) )