canapé

American  

[kan-uh-pee, -pey, ka-na-pey] / ˈkæn ə pi, -ˌpeɪ, ka naˈpeɪ /

noun

plural

canapés

1. a thin piece of bread or toast or a cracker spread or topped with cheese, caviar, anchovies, or other savory food.

2. Furniture. a sofa of 18th-century France, made in any of several forms, often with matching chairs.

3. Bridge. a style of bidding in which short suits are bid before long ones.

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canapé British  

/ -ˌpeɪ, kanape, ˈkænəpɪ /

noun

1. a small piece of bread, toast, etc, spread with a savoury topping

2. (in French cabinetwork) a sofa

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Etymology

Origin of canapé

1885–90; < French: literally, a covering or netting, originally for a bed ( see canopy), by extension for a piece of bread

Explanation

At a fancy party, that savory snack served on a small piece pastry is a canape. If you hate fish, you might want to avoid the smoked salmon canapes and instead try the little fritters with salsa on top. While canape is almost always used to mean "bite-sized party food," it also means "couch." So you could actually sit on a canape and nibble on a canape! Legend has it that a French chef trying to come up with a new type of h'ors d'oeuvre looked at his sofa and had the brilliant idea to take a small piece of bread and put something tasty on it, like a person sitting on a settee. In French, canapé means "sofa."

Example Sentences

The Canape Vert neighborhood so far has managed to evade control by the criminal gangs.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 24, 2023

“Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County will not make a statement at this time,” board member Anthony Canape said in an email Monday.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 30, 2022

For instance, you should not serve a Lobster Canape in the drawing room and a Finnan Haddie Canape at the dinner table.

From How to Prepare and Serve a Meal; and Interior Decoration by Lansdown, Lillian B.

And the menu was as follows: "Canape of Anchovies," "Celery en Branch," "Potage a la Reine," "Consomme au Celeri," "Calves' Sweetbreads a la Rothschilds," "French Lamb Chops a la Nelson," "Café noir," etc., etc.

From Skookum Chuck Fables Bits of History, Through the Microscope by Cumming, R. D. (Robert Dalziel)

Related Words

• bit
• bite
• touch