I. noun
also gom·bo ˈgəm(ˌ)bō
( -s )
Etymology: American French (Louisiana) gombo, of Bantu origin; akin to Umbundu ochinggômbo okra, Tshiluba chinggômbô
1. : the okra plant or its edible pods
2.
a. : a soup thickened with okra pods or with filé and usually containing a variety of vegetables with meat (as chicken) or seafoods
b. : a thick conserve of one or more fruits
3.
a. : any of various fine-grained silty soils common in the central United States that when saturated with water become impervious and soapy or waxy and very sticky
b. : a heavy sticky mud
the track was sheer gumbo after the rains
c. : something notably sticky or gummy
brushes coated with a gumbo of old oil and paint
4. often capitalized
[American French gombo, perhaps from Kongo nkômbô goat, runaway slave]
: a patois used by Negroes and Creoles especially in Louisiana
5. : mixture , mélange
New Orleans is a gumbo — a composition of many peoples, many viewpoints, many riches — H.T.Kane
II. adjective
: of, relating to, or like gumbo