Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
By Barbara McAllister
Word of the Day: Hors d’oeuvre
Those of you who know French, or just a little French, may wonder about the term hors d’oevre. “Hors” translates as “out of,” as in the phrase “hors de combat,” meaning out of action. “Oeuvre” is French for “work.” The term “hors d’oeuvre” is literally “out of work.” Do those delightful bits of food, also known as appetizers, intend to put the main course out of work?
Pronounced approximately like “orderves” (but especially not like “horse de overs”), the plural “s” is only used for the English form. The phrase is translated as “outside of work” and was meant to describe bite-sized morsels served outside of the main meal. Purists will argue that appetizers and hors d’oeuvres are not the same thing, but they are both basically finger foods outside the main meal. Just as strange, they might also be called canapés, the French word for sofa. Apparently, a French chef created a new hors d’oeuvre by putting a savory snack, like a bit of cheese, on a piece of toast or bread. It was thought to resemble someone sitting on a sofa.
England and France borrowed many of each other’s words, thanks to the proximity of France and England and the Norman and Saxon desires to conquer each other over the centuries. Words like cliché, entrepreneur, rendezvous and ricochet are English words retained in their original French. Other words, like “haut bois,” French for “high wood” became “oboe” in English, probably named for the instrument’s high pitch. “Pedigree” came from “pie de grue,” literally “crane’s foot,” which resemble lines of ancestry. An online food critic recently wrote of “puff pastry kickshaws and other delights.” The Queens Kickshaw restaurant on New York’s Broadway is given an excellent rating by Trip Advisor. “Kickshaw” is a fancy but insubstantial dish, especially of exotic origin, from the French “quelque chose,” literally “something.” The English ear heard it as “kickshaw” and a word was born.
