porridge - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Variant of pottage (“thick soup or stew”), influenced by porray (“stew of leeks”). The "prison sentence" sense comes from the British tradition of serving prisoners porridge for breakfast.

porridge (usually uncountable, plural porridges)

  1. A dish made of grain or legumes, milk or water, heated and stirred until thick and typically eaten for breakfast.
    Eat your porridge while it's hot!
    • 1922, Michael Arlen, “1/1/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days‎[1]:
      There were rumours, new rumours every morning, delightful and outrageous rumours, so that the lumps in the porridge were swallowed without comment and the fish-cakes were eaten without contumely.
    1. (chiefly UK) Oat porridge; oatmeal.
    2. (Malaysia, Singapore) Rice porridge; congee.
  2. (UK, slang, uncountable) A prison sentence.
    Just do your porridge and keep your head down.
  3. (rare) A type of thick soup or stew, especially thickened with barley.

breakfast cereal dish — see also oatmeal

Borrowed from English porridge.

porridge m (plural porridges)

  1. porridge

Unadapted borrowing from English porridge.

porridge n (uncountable)

  1. porridge