delicatessen

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A shop that sells high-quality cooked meats, cheeses, and other ready-to-eat foods.

   We bought olives and cured ham from the delicatessen on the corner.

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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