1. A stew of beef or veal and vegetables, seasoned mainly with paprika.
2. A mixture of many different elements; a hodgepodge.

[Hungarian gulyás (hús), herdsman's (meat), goulash, from gulya, herdsman.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.