zéphire

noun

A small dish of forcemeat, typically cooked in a mold and served with a rich sauce.

“For quotations using this term, see Citations:zéphires.”

OriginFrench zéphire →
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Meanings

nounzéphire (plural zéphires)

plural zéphires

  1. uncommoncookingA small dish of forcemeat, typically cooked in a mold and served with a rich sauce.

    For quotations using this term, see Citations:zéphires.

Origin

  1. Frenchzéphire
  2. Englishzéphire

From French zéphire. So named because the dish was considered light like a zephyr breeze or cloth. Compare Russian зефи́р (zefír, “marshmallow”), another light food named for the breeze. Doublet of zefir, Zephyr, zephyr, and Zephyrus.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

zéphire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/z%C3%A9phire

MLA

“zéphire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/z%C3%A9phire. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “zéphire,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/z%C3%A9phire.

Source: zéphire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.