Meanings
plural puddings
- countableuncountableAny of various dishes, sweet or savoury, prepared by boiling or steaming or from batter.
The dishes in this chapter represent a range of multiethnic savory custards and steamed puddings, including a few surprises like a chèvre popover pudding and a bread pudding with lettuce and cheese.
2004, Victoria Wise, The Pressure Cooker Gourmet, page 3131 more example
Steamed and boiled puddings have formed the basic diet of country people in northern Europe for centuries. Early puddings consisted of the scoured stomach of a sheep or pig, stuffed with its own suet and offal, which has been thickened with oatmeal, and boiled in water or baked in the ashes of a fire.
2004, Sarah Garland, The Complete Book of Herbs & Spices, page 199 - countableuncountableA type of cake or dessert cooked usually by boiling or steaming.
Steamed puddings, a favourite for winter, are both easy to make and delicious. Served with one of the sweet sauces (recipes 497 to 506) they make a filling and satisfying end to a meal.
2007, Magdaleen Van Wyk, The Complete South African Cookbook, page 265 - AustraliaNew ZealandUKcountableuncountableDessert; the dessert course of a meal.
We have apple pie for pudding today.
2 more examples
Harold Winstanley: Is there any pudding? Doris Winstanley: Oh, yes. Rhubarb cobbler left over from Sunday.
1998 March 29, Caroline Graham, “Death of a Hollow Man”, in Midsomer MurdersJane Cavendish: Have you tried some fresh strawberry cheesecake? Tara Cavendish: Nope. I don't eat puddings.
1999 September 12, Anthony Horowitz et al., “Dead Man's Eleven”, in Midsomer Murders - countableuncountableoriginallyA sausage made primarily from blood.
Synonyms: black pudding, blood sausage
- countableslanguncountableAn overweight person.
Synonyms: fatty, porker, All are derogatory unless otherwise labeled, butterball, chod, chodder, chubbs, chubster
- countableendearinguncountableA term of endearment.
"How is my little pudding?" Jehan nuzzles up to me and rests his little head on my shoulder, still chuckling […]
2005, Ruzbeh N. Bharucha, Rest in Pieces, page 7Synonyms: dumpling
- countableslanguncountableEntrails.
PUDDINGS, the guts; I'll let out your puddings.
[1785, Francis Grose, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue1 more example
I pray God he may recover, though there is little hopes; as there is of Coll Halley, being shott throw the body; and of Capt. Urquhart of Burdyeyeards, being wounded in the belly, after being made prisoner, soe that his puddings hang out.
1715 November 15, To Mr James Neilsone, opposite the Tolbooth, Berwick; published as “Battle of Sheriffmuir”, in The Edinburgh Magazine, 28 March 1818, page 241 - countableobsoleteuncountableAny food or victuals.
Eat your pudding, slave, and hold your tongue.
1718, Matthew Prior, Merry AndrewSynonyms: fodder, provisions, aliment, bait, belly-timber, chow, comestibles, cuisine
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA sausage made primarily from blood.
nounAn overweight person.
nounA term of endearment.
nounAny food or victuals.
nounA piece of good fortune.
More synonyms by meaning
noun(British) the dessert course of a meal (‘pud’ is used informally)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*put-
- Latinbotellus“sausage, small intestine”
- Old Frenchboudin“blood sausage, black pudding”
- Middle Englishpodynge“kind of sausage; meat-filled animal stomach”
- Englishpudding
From circa 1305, Middle English podynge (“kind of sausage; meat-filled animal stomach”), puddynge, from Old French boudin (“blood sausage, black pudding”), from Latin botellus (“sausage, small intestine”). Doublet of boudin. * An alternative etymology assumes origin from Proto-Germanic *put-, *pud- (“to swell”) (compare dialectal English pod (“belly”), Old English puduc (“wen, sore”), Low German puddig (“swollen”), Westphalian Puddek (“lump, pudding”), Puddewurst (“black pudding”). More at pout.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek φύσκη, κυκεών
- φύσκη (phúskē)sausage made primarily from blood
- κυκεών (kukeṓn)boiled or steamed cake or dessert
Arabic بُودِنْغ
- بُودِنْغ (budinḡ)boiled or steamed cake or dessert
Bulgarian пудинг, кървавица
- пудинг (puding)dessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- кървавица (kărvavica)sausage made primarily from blood
- пудинг (puding)boiled or steamed cake or dessert
Chinese Cantonese 布甸, 布甸
- 布甸 (bou⁶ din¹)dessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- 布甸 (bou⁶ din¹)boiled or steamed cake or dessert
Chinese Mandarin 布丁, 布丁
- 布丁 (bùdīng)dessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- 布丁 (bùdīng)boiled or steamed cake or dessert
- 布甸 (bùdiàn)boiled or steamed cake or dessert
Czech pudink
- pudinkdessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
Danish budding, blodpølse
- buddingdessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- blodpølsesausage made primarily from blood
- buddingboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Dutch pudding, vla
- puddingsavoury dish prepared like a sweet pudding
- vlasavoury dish prepared like a sweet pudding
- puddingdessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- bloedworstsausage made primarily from blood
- penssausage made primarily from blood
Finnish vuoka, paistos
- vuokasavoury dish prepared like a sweet pudding
- paistossavoury dish prepared like a sweet pudding
- vanukasdessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- verimakkarasausage made primarily from blood
- kohokasboiled or steamed cake or dessert
French pudding, boudin
- puddingdessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- boudinsausage made primarily from blood
- puddingboiled or steamed cake or dessert
German Pudding, Blutwurst
- Puddingdessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- Blutwurstsausage made primarily from blood
- Puddingboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Hindi पुडिंग
- पुडिंग (puḍiṅg)boiled or steamed cake or dessert
Hungarian véres hurka, puding
- véres hurkasausage made primarily from blood
- pudingboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Icelandic búðingur, blóðmör
- búðingurdessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- blóðmörsausage made primarily from blood
- slátursausage made primarily from blood
Indonesian puding
- pudingboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Irish maróg, maróg
- marógsavoury dish prepared like a sweet pudding
- marógsausage made primarily from blood
- putógsausage made primarily from blood
- milseánboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Italian budino, sanguinaccio
- budinodessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- sanguinacciosausage made primarily from blood
- puddingoboiled or steamed cake or dessert
- pudinoboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Japanese プリン, プディング
- プリン (purin)dessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- プディング (pudingu)dessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- プリン (purin)boiled or steamed cake or dessert
- プディング (pudingu)boiled or steamed cake or dessert
Korean 푸딩, 푸딩
- 푸딩 (puding)dessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- 푸딩 (puding)boiled or steamed cake or dessert
Latin apothermum
- apothermumboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Māori purini, purini
- purinisavoury dish prepared like a sweet pudding
- puriniboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Norwegian blodpudding
- blodpuddingsausage made primarily from blood
Norwegian Bokmål pudding, pudding
- puddingdessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- puddingboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Persian پودینگ
- پودینگ (puding)boiled or steamed cake or dessert
Polish budyń, kaszanka
- budyńdessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- kaszankasausage made primarily from blood
- puddingboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Portuguese pudim, morcela
- pudimdessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- morcelasausage made primarily from blood
- pudimboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Romanian budincă
- budincăboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Russian пу́динг, пу́динг
- пу́динг (púding)savoury dish prepared like a sweet pudding
- пу́динг (púding)dessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- кровяна́я колбаса́ (krovjanája kolbasá)sausage made primarily from blood
- пу́динг (púding)boiled or steamed cake or dessert
Scottish Gaelic marag, marag
- maragsavoury dish prepared like a sweet pudding
- maragsausage made primarily from blood
- mìlseanboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Spanish pudin, pudín
- pudindessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- pudíndessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- morcillasausage made primarily from blood
Swedish pudding, pudding
- puddingsavoury dish prepared like a sweet pudding
- puddingdessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
- blodkorvsausage made primarily from blood
- blodpuddingsausage made primarily from blood
- puddingboiled or steamed cake or dessert
Tagalog puding
- pudingdessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
Turkish puding
- pudingdessert similar to custard or mousse, containing a starchy thickening agent
Urdu پڈنگ
- پڈنگ (puḍiṅg)boiled or steamed cake or dessert
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with pudding
All rhymes →Cite this entry
pudding. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pudding
“pudding.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pudding. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pudding,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pudding.
Source: pudding on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.