posset

English

Etymology

From Middle English posset, possot, possate, poshet, posthot, of unclear origin. Perhaps from Welsh posel. A connection to Latin pōsca (medieval/dialectal poscada) has also been suggested.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɒsɪt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑsɪt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

posset (plural possets)

1. A beverage composed of hot milk curdled by some strong infusion, such as wine.
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

     I have drugged their possets.

2. A baby's vomit, comprising curdled milk.
   • 2008, Miriam Stoppard, Complete Baby and Childcare: Everything You Need to Know for the First Five Years, Dorling Kindersley Ltd, →ISBN:

     Some people will tell you that this position may allow inhalation of posset, but there is no evidence to support this.

   • 2012, Dave Hill, Man Alive, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

     Derek saw that a smear of posset had appeared on the left shoulder of his jacket [...] He smiled softly at Charlotte and said softly, 'I've been puked on.'

   • 2014, Nick Harper, Help! I'm a Dad: All a new dad needs to know about the difficult first few months, Michael O'Mara Books, →ISBN:

     While a little posseting is nothing to be worried about, a lot of posset is more likely to be 'reflux'.

3. A pudding-like food composed of cream, sugar, and other flavoring, such as lemon.
   • 2022 October 4, America's Test Kitchen, The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001–2023: Every Recipe from the Hit TV Show Along with Product Ratings Includes the 2023 Season, America's Test Kitchen, →ISBN, page 939:

     LEMON POSSET / WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS : The classic English dessert lemon posset transforms cream, sugar, and lemon into a lush pudding with clean citrus flavor. It is the easiest dessert you've never made. […]

Translations

a beverage composed of curdled milk

• Greek:

  Ancient: κυκεών m (kukeṓn)

Verb

posset (third-person singular simple present possets, present participle posseting, simple past and past participle posseted)

1. (obsolete) To curdle; to turn, as milk; to coagulate.

   to posset the blood

2. To treat with possets; to pamper.
   • 1908, Arnold Bennett, The Old Wives' Tale:

     Nevertheless, as she laid him in bed and posseted him, how frail and fragile he looked!

3. (of a baby) To vomit up curdled milk.
   • 1990, Miriam Stoppard, The New Baby Care Book, →ISBN:

     Some babies never posset at all. Others do so with surprising ease, and this can be quite a cause of concern to parents.

   • 2003, Pearson Education, Limited, Baby's First Year, Pearson South Africa →ISBN, page 23

     All babies posset.

   • 2012, Andy Raffles, Felicity Fine, Harriet Sharkey, Yehudi Gordon, Mother and Baby Health: The A-Z of pregnancy, birth and beyond, Random House, →ISBN, page 421:

     It's also common for babies to 'posset' - bring up small amounts of milk after a feed - and to vomit occasionally.

Synonyms

• (pamper): coddle, cosset, pamper; see also Thesaurus:pamper

Derived terms

• sneck posset
• give a sneck posset

References

• “posset”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• T poses, T-poses, e-stops, estops, pestos, posest, posets, ptoses, stoeps, stopes

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈpos.set/, [ˈpɔs̠ːɛt̪]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpos.set/, [ˈpɔsːet̪]

Verb

posset

1. third-person singular imperfect active subjunctive of possum  "he would be able (to)"