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bouil·la·baisse

(b′yə-bās, blyə-bās′)

1. A highly seasoned stew made of several kinds of fish and shellfish, tomatoes, olive oil, and often saffron.

2. A combination of various different, often incongruous elements: a bouillabaisse of special interests.

[French, from Provençal bouiabaisso : boui, imperative of bouie, to boil (from Latin bullīre, from bulla, bubble) + abaisso, imperative of abeissa, to lower (from Vulgar Latin *abbassiāre : Latin ad-, ad- + Medieval Latin bassus, low).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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