olla podrida

See also: ollapodrida

English

Alternative forms

• ollapodrida

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish olla podrida, from Old Spanish olla potrida (literally “rotten pot”) or olla poderida (literally “pot [of the] mighty”). Doublet of potpourri.

Pronunciation

a dish of olla podrida

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɒlə pə(ʊ)ˈdɹiːdə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɑlə pəˈdɹidə/, /ˌɔ(l)jə pəˈdɹidə/
• Hyphenation UK: olla pod‧rida, US: ol‧la po‧dri‧da

Noun

olla podrida (plural olla podridas)

1. A Spanish stew made from a mixture of highly seasoned meat and vegetables.
2. A miscellaneous assortment or collection; a hodgepodge.
   • 2003 August 22, Rotan E. Lee, “Black gay men suffer double racism”, in Philadelphia Tribune:

     Continuously testing the resilience of the melting pot differentiates America from other places; and the olla podrida of colors and cultures creates a reservoir of talents unduplicated on the planet.

Synonyms

• olio

Translations

Spanish stew of seasoned meat and vegetables

• Armenian: օլյա պոդրիդա (ōlya podrida)
• Basque: eltze ustela
• Catalan: olla podrida f
• German: Olla podrida (de) f
• Greek: όγια ποδρίδα f (ógia podrída)
• Italian: olla podrida f
• Japanese: オジャ・ポドリーダ (oja podorīda)
• Korean: 오야 포드리다 (oya podeurida)
• Portuguese: olla podrida f
• Russian: о́лья подри́да f (ólʹja podrída)
• Spanish: olla podrida (es) f

miscellaneous assortment — see hodgepodge

References

• “olla podrida”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish olla podrida (literally “rotten pot”) (maybe due to the smell), or olla poderida (literally “pot [of the] mighty”) (because it was eaten by the rich), ultimately from Latin ōlla (“pot, jar”) and putridus (“decayed, rotten”) or a derivative of adjective potis (“able, capable”). Compare pudrir (“to rot, to decay”) and poder (“to be able”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˌoʝa poˈdɾida/ [ˌo.ʝa poˈð̞ɾi.ð̞a]

• IPA^(key): (most of Spain and Latin America) /ˌoʝa poˈdɾida/ [ˌo.ʝa poˈð̞ɾi.ð̞a]
• IPA^(key): (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines) /ˌoʎa poˈdɾida/ [ˌo.ʎa poˈð̞ɾi.ð̞a]
• IPA^(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /ˌoʃa poˈdɾida/ [ˌo.ʃa poˈð̞ɾi.ð̞a]
• IPA^(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /ˌoʒa poˈdɾida/ [ˌo.ʒa poˈð̞ɾi.ð̞a]

• Syllabification: o‧lla po‧dri‧da

Noun

olla podrida f (plural ollas podridas)

1. olla podrida (stew of seasoned meat and vegetables)
   • 1605–1615, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, chapter XLVII, in El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha [The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha], University of Barcelona, published 2006, page 416:

     Aquel platonazo que está más adelante vahando, me parece que es olla podrida, que por la diversidad de cosas que en las tales ollas podridas hay, no podré dejar de topar con alguna que me sea de gusto y provecho.

     That big dish that is smoking farther off, seems to me to be an olla podrida, and out of the diversity of things in such olla podridas, I can’t fail to light upon something tasty and good for me.

Further reading

• “olla podrida”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28