/ay'tooh fay"/ , n. , pl. étouffées /-fayz"/ ; Fr. /-fay"/ .
New Orleans Cookery. a stew of crayfish, vegetables, and seasonings, served over white rice.
[ (à l')étouffée cooked in a closed vessel with little liquid, braised; n. use of fem. ptp. of étouffer lit., to smother, suffocate, OF estofer, appar. identical with estofer to STUFF ]