delicatessen

plural noun

del·​i·​ca·​tes·​sen ˌde-li-kə-ˈte-sᵊn How to pronounce delicatessen (audio)
1
: ready-to-eat food products (such as cooked meats and prepared salads)
2
singular, plural delicatessens : a store where delicatessen are sold

Examples of delicatessen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The shop is also a delicatessen serving up lunchtime classics. — Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 1 July 2026 How can the same discount retailer attract both frugal middle-class shoppers and those who can afford to get their wine from a fancy wine shop and their chicken from a high-end delicatessen? — Peter Georgescu, Forbes.com, 14 Feb. 2026 The same logic applies to hefty reubens from an uptown Jewish delicatessen, or bánh mì Vietnamese counter in Sunset Park. — Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Jan. 2026 Walking into the space is like stepping from North Carolina right into a Parisienne delicatessen. — Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 14 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for delicatessen

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Delicatessen (now spelled Delikatessen), plural of Delicatesse "delicacy," borrowed from French délicatesse, going back to Middle French, from delicat delicate entry 1 + -esse, suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives; probably formed after Italian delicatezza — more at finesse

Note: Sense 2 is probably from shortening of delicatessen store, or based on the use of delicatessen in signs designating such shops.

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of delicatessen was in 1885

Rhymes for delicatessen

See All Rhymes for delicatessen

Browse Nearby Words

delicatesse
delicatessen
delice
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Delicatessen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/delicatessen. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

delicatessen

plural noun
del·​i·​ca·​tes·​sen ˌdel-i-kə-ˈtes-ᵊn How to pronounce delicatessen (audio)
1
: ready-to-eat food products (as cooked meats and prepared salads)
2
singular, plural delicatessens : a store where delicatessen are sold
Etymology

from obsolete German Delicatessen (now spelled Delikatessen) "specially prepared ready-to-eat foods," plural of Delicatesse "delicacy," from French délicatesse (same meaning), derived from Latin delicatus "delicate"

Word Origin
We owe both the word delicatessen and the special food it represents to the German immigrants who came to this country toward the end of the 19th century. But although the food was originally German, the word was not. The Germans borrowed the word from the French. The obsolete German word delicatessen is a plural form of delicatesse and means "delicacies, ready-to-eat foods." This word was borrowed from the French word délicatesse, meaning "delicacy." In English, delicatessen originally meant only the specially-prepared food. In time, the delicatessen store where this food was sold came to be called a delicatessen, and a new meaning for the word was born. Now the word is often shortened to deli.

More from Merriam-Webster on delicatessen

Nglish: Translation of delicatessen for Spanish Speakers

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