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hors d'oeuvre

 
Dictionary: hors d'oeuvre   (ôr dûrv') pronunciation
n., pl., hors d'oeuvres (ôr dûrvz'), or hors d'oeuvre.
An appetizer served before a meal.

[French hors d'œuvre : hors, outside + de, of + œuvre, (the main) work.]


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Wordsmith Words: hors d'oeuvre
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(ohr DERV)

noun
An extra little dish outside of and smaller than the main course, usually served first.

Etymology
From French hors (outside of), oeuvre (job or work)

Usage
"Four glasses of classy bubbles ... all served on a tray with a separate hors d'oeuvre to go with each glass." — Flight of Whatever Hinch Fancies; Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia); Oct 6, 2005.

"Before the main course, however, would be an introductory hors d'oeuvre in the form of 40 laps aboard a stock Yamaha." — Alan Cathcart; American Beauty; Motorcyclist Magazine; Oct 7, 2005.


Food and Nutrition: hors d'œuvre
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Small savoury dishes served as an appetizer either as the first course of a meal or before the meal with cocktails or an aperitif. It is French for ‘outside the main work’ of the meal. The Spanish equivalent is tapas.

Food Lover's Companion: hors d'oeuvre
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[or DERV] Small savory appetizers served before the meal, customarily with apéritifs or cocktails. They are usually one- or two-bite size and can be cold or hot. Hors d'oeuvre may be in the form of a fancy canapé or as simple as a selection of crudités. The word "hors d'oeuvre" is properly used for both the singular and plural forms. The reason is that the term translates literally as (dishes) "outside the work (meal)" and no matter how many dishes there are, there is only one "work." In today's modern parlance, however, the plural is often spoken and written as hors d'oeuvres.

Translations: Hors
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Dansk (Danish)
idioms:

  • hors d'oeuvre    hors d'oeuvre, forret

Français (French)
idioms:

  • hors d'oeuvre    hors d'¯uvre

Deutsch (German)
idioms:

  • hors d'oeuvre    hors d'oeuvre, Vorspeise

Ελληνική (Greek)
idioms:

  • hors d'oeuvre    ορεκτικά, ορντέρβρ

Italiano (Italian)
idioms:

  • hors d'oeuvre    antipasto

Português (Portuguese)
idioms:

  • hors d'oeuvre    salgadinhos (m pl) (Culin.)

Русский (Russian)
закуска

idioms:

  • hors d'oeuvre    закуска, что-л. необычное

Español (Spanish)
idioms:

  • hors d'oeuvre    entremeses

Svenska (Swedish)
(┴:(r)) - hors d'oeuvre

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
不必, ...之外

idioms:

  • hors d'oeuvre    开胃小菜

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
不必, ...之外

idioms:

  • hors d'oeuvre    開胃小菜

한국어 (Korean)
~의 밖에

idioms:

  • hors d'oeuvre    전체 (수프 전에 나오는 가벼운 요리), 곁들인 것

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - オードブル, 前菜

idioms:

  • hors d'oeuvre    オードヴル, 添え物

עברית (Hebrew)
hors d'oeuvre - ‮מתאבן (מנה קטנה לפני הארוחה או בין מנות)‬


 
 
Learn More
meze (culinary)
loanword
Vienna sausage (sausage resembling a frankfurter)

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. 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.  Read more
Wordsmith Words. © 2009 Wordsmith.org. All rights reserved.  Read more
Food and Nutrition. A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2005 by A. E. Bender and D. A. Bender. All rights reserved.  Read more
Food Lover's Companion. Food Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2001 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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