hors d'oeuvre

English

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• hors-d'oeuvre
• orderve (US)

Etymology

From French hors d'œuvre

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ɔəˈdɜːv/ X-SAMPA: /O@"d3:v/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (US) IPA: /ɔrˈdɝv/, /ɔrˈdʊv/ X-SAMPA: /Or"d3`v/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

hors d'oeuvre (plural hors d'oeuvres)

1. A small, light, and usually savory first course in a meal.
2. (by extension) Anything of secondary concern; not the primary one.

Translations

appetizer

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 前菜 (cmn) (qiáncài), 小吃 (cmn) (xiǎochī), 點心 (cmn), 点心 (cmn) (diǎnxin)

• Finnish: alkupala (fi)
• French: hors-d'œuvre (fr) m, hors d'œuvre (fr) m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Hors d’œuvre (de) n, Vorspeise (de) f
• Greek: ορεκτικό (el) (orektikó) n 
• Japanese: オードブル (ja) (ōdoburu), つき出し (ja) (つきだし, tsukidashi), 突き出し (ja) (つきだし, tsukidashi)

• Korean: 오르되브르 (ko) (oreudoebeureu)
• Latin: gustatio (la) f
• Macedonian: ордевер (mk) (ordevér) m
• Polish: zakąska (pl) f, przystawka (pl) f
• Russian: закуска (ru) (zakúska) f 
• Spanish: aperitivo (es) m
• Swedish: förrätt (sv) c
• Volapük: büzib (vo)

anything of secondary concern

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Icelandic: forréttur m, smáréttur m

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. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Chapter III

  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.

See also

• canapé

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French

Etymology

Literally, "apart from the work", in other words, "apart from the main meal"

Noun

hors d'oeuvre m (plural hors d'oeuvre)

1. Nonstandard spelling of hors d'œuvre.

Usage notes

• The œ ligature is often replaced in contemporary French with 'oe', as the œ character does not appear on AZERTY keyboards.