Etymology Wednesday: ‘smorgasbord’

Bilde fra et spisested i New York

Ukens etymologi er opprinnelige svensk, og lett gjenkjennelig som sådan, men har som så mange andre ord funnet sin plass også i det engelske språk.

smorgasbord
1893, from Swed. smörgåsbord “open sandwich table,” lit. “butter-goose table,” from smörgås, which is said to mean “bread and butter,” but is compounded from smör “butter” (related to smear) and gås, lit. “goose” (and from the root of Eng. goose), which is said to have a secondary meaning of “a clump(of butter).” The final element is bord “table” (cf. board (n.1)). Fig. sense of “medley, miscellany” is recorded from 1948.

—etymonline.com