Etymology

deli

D2E1L1I1

Today it means: A shop that sells cooked or prepared food ready for serving. Full definition →

German Delikatessen ← French délicatesse ← Latin delicatus
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromdelicatus
  2. French · derived fromdélicatesse
  3. German · derived fromDelikatessen
  4. English todaydeli

Attested since 1954. Clipping of delicatessen, from German Delikatessen, plural of Delikatesse (“delicacy, fine food”), from French délicatesse, derived from the adjective délicat, from Latin delicatus.

Words from the same roots

GermanDelikatessen all →

Frenchdélicatesse all →

Latindelicatus all →

delicatedelicatessendelicacy

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.