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
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
Byron Buxton Buxton has played only 736 of a possible 1,356 games since 2017 because of a smorgasbord of injuries.
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
The smorgasbord of prop bet offerings, player props and additional betting opportunities on Super Bowl LIX will be more popular driving fan engagement and entertainment while offering more ways to win.
—Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Smorgasbord.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smorgasbord. Accessed 3 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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