hors d'oeuvre
See also: hors-d'oeuvre and hors-d'œuvre
English
Alternative forms
- hors-d'oeuvre
- hors d'œuvre
- hors-d'œuvre
Etymology
Borrowed from French hors-d'œuvre.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɔəˈdɜːv/, /ɔəˈdɜːvɹə/
Audio (UK) (file) - (US) IPA(key): /ɔɹˈdɝv/, /ɔɹˈdʊv/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
hors d'oeuvre (plural hors d'oeuvre or hors d'oeuvres)
- (food) A small, light, and usually savory first course in a meal.
- (by extension) Anything of secondary concern; not the primary thing.
- (dated, rare) Something unusual or extraordinary.
Quotations
- 1920, G. K. Chesterton, The New Jerusalem, Ch. XIII
- It seems quaintest of all when, at some Jewish luncheon parties, a tray of hats is actually handed round, and each guest helps himself to a hat as a sort of hors d'oeuvre.
- 1925, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, chapter III, in The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, OCLC 884653065; republished New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1953, →ISBN:
- On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors-d’oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold.
Synonyms
(food):
- apéritif
- appetizer
- entrée
- starter
Translations
appetizer
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anything of secondary concern
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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See also
- canapé
French
Etymology
Literally, “apart from the work”, in other words, "apart from the main meal"
Noun
hors d'oeuvre m (plural hors d'oeuvre)
- Nonstandard spelling of hors d'œuvre.
Usage notes
- The œ ligature is often replaced in contemporary French with oe (the œ character does not appear on AZERTY keyboards), but this is nonstandard.