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hoi·sin sauce

(hoisĭn, hoi-sĭn)

A thick, sweet, pungent sauce used in Chinese cooking.

[Cantonese hoi2 sin1, seafood, from Middle Chinese xaj´ sian (also the source of Mandarin hǎixiān) : Cantonese hoi2, sea, ocean (from Middle Chinese xaj´) + Cantonese sin1, fresh, delicious (from Middle Chinese sian, fresh, ultimately from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sar; akin to Tibetan gsar).]

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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