chowchow

• chow-chow, chow chow

Borrowed from Chinese Pidgin English chow-chow (“food”). Possibly originated from Wu Chinese, like Shanghainese or Ningbo dialect 吃(喫), 7chiq，or chioq7, to eat. Other possible origins are 雜, cha, mixed, or 炒, chaau, to fry.

chowchow (countable and uncountable, plural chowchows)

1. A Chinese preserve. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
2. An American relish, containing pickled green tomatoes, cabbage, and often other vegetables.
3. A fruit ketchup
4. (obsolete, slang, Anglo-Chinese) Gossip.
5. Alternative form of Chow Chow (“type of dog”)

chowchow (third-person singular simple present chowchows, present participle chowchowing, simple past and past participle chowchowed)

1. (obsolete, slang, Anglo-Chinese) To gossip.
   • 1861, The London and China Telegraph (page 316)

     […] some ten or twelve fellows were chow chowing and drinking, playing at the Chinese game with their fingers, shouting and yelling like demons.

chowchow (not comparable)

1. (obsolete, slang, Anglo-Chinese) Consisting of several kinds mingled together; mixed.

   chowchow sweetmeats (preserved fruits put together)

chowchow m (plural chowchows)

1. Alternative form of chow chow