Delicatessen
//ˌdɛlɪkəˈtɛsən// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A shop that sells cooked or prepared foods ready for serving.
- 2 Delicacies; exotic or expensive foods. plural, plural-only
"I shall have Royal Climax sausages every Tuesday and Saturday. Leave your orders early as there is a demand for these delicious delicatessen. J. W. Galloway."
- 3 a shop selling ready-to-eat food products wordnet
- 4 ready-to-eat food products wordnet
Example
More examples"A delicatessen caught fire and burned down, leaving a heap of ashes."
Etymology
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.
More for "delicatessen"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.