Dictionary.com
definitions

chowder

[chou-der]
See more synonyms for chowder on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a thick soup or stew made of clams, fish, or vegetables, with potatoes, onions, and other ingredients and seasonings.

Origin of chowder

1735–45, Americanism; < French chaudière pot, kettle < Late Latin caldāria cauldron
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for chowder

porridge, puree, chowder, bouillon, concoction, distillation, fluid, splash, elixir, brew, bowl, potpourri, stock, potage, gumbo, decoction, pottage, vichyssoise, borscht, dishwater

Examples from the Web for chowder

Contemporary Examples of chowder

  • I was about to play touch football with John-John and I could almost smell the chowder.

    The Daily Beast logo
    My Man Crush on JFK, Jr.

    Mark Katz

    July 16, 2009

Historical Examples of chowder

  • Chowder may be made of clams, first cutting off the hard part.

  • Shall we go to see the camp or shall we have our chowder and luncheon first and then go?

    Shavings

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • Now we'll call that chowder done for the second time, I guess.

    Shavings

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • She gave her note to the little captain when he came with the chowder.

    Glory of Youth

    Temple Bailey

  • The oysters in the chowder were small, but had been taken from the water that morning.

    Down South

    Oliver Optic

British Dictionary definitions for chowder

chowder

noun
  1. a thick soup or stew containing clams or fish

Word Origin for chowder

C18: from French chaudière kettle, from Late Latin caldāria; see cauldron
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for chowder
n.

1751, American English, apparently named for the pot it was cooked in: French chaudière "a pot" (12c.), from Late Latin caldaria (see caldron). The word and the practice introduced in Newfoundland by Breton fishermen, and spreading thence to New England.

CHOWDER. A favorite dish in New England, made of fish, pork, onions, and biscuit stewed together. Cider and champagne are sometimes added. Pic-nic parties to the sea-shore generally have a dish of chowder, prepared by themselves in some grove near the beach, from fish caught at the same time. [John Russell Bartlett, "Dictionary of Americanisms," 1859]

The derogatory chowderhead (1819) is a corruption of cholter-head (16c.), from jolthead, of unknown origin.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper