ponzu
noun
pon·zu
ˈpän-(ˌ)zü
: a tangy sauce made with citrus juice, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce and used especially on seafood
Did you know?
The word ponzu is relatively new to English; our earliest English-language evidence of the word - which we borrowed from Japanese - is from 1972. But the word's history isn't as simple as that fact suggests. The Japanese word, which literally means "juice squeezed from sour oranges" is itself from the Dutch word pons. And "pons" comes from (and shares the meaning of) the English word punch as it's used to refer to the beverage concoction that's often served at parties, weddings, and wakes.
Cite this Entry
“Ponzu.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ponzu. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.
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