Link Centre Dictionary

delicatessen

de·li·ca·tessen

UK/ˌdɛlɪkəˈtɛsən/ US/ˌdɛlɪkʌˈtɛsʌn/ rare

noun

1.

ready-to-eat food products

2.

a shop selling delicatessen (as salads or cooked meats)

Origin

First attested 1864. From German Delikatessen, plural of Delikatesse (“delicacy, fine food”), at the time also spelt Delicatesse(n), from French délicatesse, from délicat (“fine”), from Latin delicatus (“alluring”). The sense of store is much more recent, originating in ellipsis from the common attributive use, as in delicatessen shop, delicatessen store, etc.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.