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potluck

Pronunciation: /ˌpɒtˈlʌk/

The English word “potluck” has 5 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A meal, especially one offered to a guest, consisting of whatever food is available.
  2. Whatever is available in a particular situation.
  3. A shared meal consisting of whatever guests have brought (sometimes without prior arrangement); a potlatch; also, a dish of food brought to such a meal.
  4. The last draft or portion of an alcoholic beverage in a pot or other drinking vessel.

verb

  1. To take part in a potluck, where each participant brings a meal to be shared by all.

Etymology

From pot + luck. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, sense 3 (“a shared meal consisting of whatever guests have brought”) is unlikely to have been influenced by potlatch.

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