smorgasbord
noun
Did you know?
Although smorgasbord might make us think of a variety of foods, the Swedish word smörgås refers to a particular food item—an open sandwich or, alternatively, a slice of bread covered with butter—which is a staple of the traditional Swedish smorgasbord. (The word smör means "butter," and gås can mean "a lump of butter" as well as "goose.") Smörgås teamed up with the Swedish word bord, meaning "table" or "board," to form smorgasbord; the word first appeared in English in the later part of the 19th century. By the mid-20th century smorgasbord was being used outside of food-related contexts to refer to something that comprises a mixture or assemblage of different parts.
Examples of smorgasbord in a Sentence
arkansasonline.com, 1 Mar. 2025
With so many vying for their attention, one savvy distributor found a novel way to get some quality time with the in-demand execs; provide a taxi service to and from the smorgasbord of events and shop them your wares during the ride.
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 28 Feb. 2025
Pair with a smorgasbord that includes sharp cheeses, jerky and fresh vegetables—cauliflower and broccoli.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
This smorgasbord of gameplay styles and tonal shifts is the core appeal of Split Fiction.
—Kyle Wilson, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Smorgasbord.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smorgasbord. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
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smorgasbord
noun
from Swedish smörgåsbord "a buffet meal," from smörgås "open sandwich" and bord "table"
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