Question: What is the etymology of the word *ketchup*? I've tried searching on Google without a definitive answer.

Answer: 
Supposed to be a maritime-related deal, with traders from the British East India company returning to the West from Malaysia bringing a recipe for something called kicap (pronounced: "kee-chap," with variable spellings and ingredients). Circa 17th cent. Of note is that the original was probably the same thing now available in Asian markets, called Nampla or Nuk-nam, a fermented fish sauce. 

[Supporting link here.](http://books.google.com/books?id=KXaX4tUEOOsC&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=malaysia%20keechap&source=bl&ots=fZ6kHWHac4&sig=3emKIdZngM0fr6Bb0_9PI7GrSh4&hl=en&ei=r3HITaGxEeXr0QHCg_T_Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false)

Also of interest is modern-day usage of both "catsup" and "ketchup."
Ketchup 果子汁is a Taiwanese word that means fruit juice. The name was brought back to Europe by the Dutch in the early 17th Century when Taiwan was a Dutch colony. 

Along with ketchup, tea was brought back to Europe, the word "tea" came from Taiwanese.

* Taiwanese *te*
* Dutch *thee*
* German *tee*
* French *the*
* Spanish *te*
* English *tea*