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
Kyle Wilson, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2025
And not just any food; Girard Creek provides a smorgasbord of gourmet offerings, including ceviche, ahi tuna, and white truffles from Alba, Italy.
—Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 29 Jan. 2025
The daylong celebration offers a smorgasbord of special events, including the new Gritty City Crawl, music, cabaret, giveaways and discounts.
—Mike D'onofrio, Axios, 13 Feb. 2025
Rather our linguistic capacity rests on a smorgasbord of physical and cognitive traits, many of them spread throughout the animal kingdom.
—Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 6 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smorgasbord
Cite this Entry
“Smorgasbord.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smorgasbord. Accessed 18 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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