miso
- 1A thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with the mold Aspergillus oryzae, used to make soups and sauces.
Much like a sourdough starter, it relies on a living culture to develop its flavor over time.
The chef whisked miso into the dashi to build the soup's base.
A tablespoon of miso added depth to the marinade.
Note
Borrowed straight from Japanese 味噌 (miso), the word kept its spelling when it entered English. It is usually a mass noun (a bit of miso, a spoonful of miso), and descriptive words name its styles, as in white miso. The plural misos exists for comparing several kinds. An unrelated clipping, the pharmacy shorthand, shares the spelling but not the origin.
- 2Clipping of misoprostol.
The protocol called for a dose of miso to ripen the cervix before induction.
She was prescribed miso alongside an anti-inflammatory to protect her stomach lining.
Note
A pharmacology shorthand for misoprostol, a drug used to prevent drug-induced stomach ulcers and to induce abortion. It also goes by the brand name Cytotec. The clipped form appears in reporting on abortion access, including compounds such as a miso-only protocol. Because it is informal and shares its spelling with the soybean paste, the full name is the safer choice in formal or clinical writing.
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Origin
Borrowed from the Japanese word 味噌 (miso).