Etymology

Heinz 57

Today it means: A thing comprising parts from many different sources; a complete mix; a hodgepodge, a mishmash. Full definition →

German Heinz
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The story

  1. German · borrowed fromHeinz
  2. English todayHeinz 57

From the “57 Varieties” slogan introduced by the H. J. Heinz Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., in 1896 to advertise the fact that it produced numerous food products. Heinz is derived from the surname of the American entrepreneur Henry John Heinz (1844–1919) who founded the company (borrowed from German Heinz), while 57 was apparently an arbitrary number chosen by Heinz because 5 was his lucky number and 7 his wife’s lucky number; at the time, the company was already selling more than 60 products.

Words from the same roots

GermanHeinz all →

Enzo

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.