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su·shi

(sshē)

Cold cooked rice dressed with vinegar that is shaped into pieces and topped with raw or cooked fish, or formed into a roll with fish, egg, or vegetables and often wrapped in seaweed.

[Japanese, from Old Japanese susi, salted fish preserved in fermenting rice, possibly a nominalization of susi, sour : su-, sour (akin to su, vinegar, perhaps imitative of a puckering or sucking sound, or from Early Middle Chinese ts^hɔ^h, vinegar) + -si, finite predicative adjective ending.]

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sushi

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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