antipasto

[an-ti-pah-stoh, -pas-toh; Italian ahn-tee-pahs-taw]

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noun, plural an·ti·pas·tos, an·ti·pas·ti [an-ti-pah-stee, -pas-tee; Italian ahn-tee-pahs-tee] /ˌæn tɪˈpɑ sti, -ˈpæs ti; Italian ˌɑn tiˈpɑs ti/. Italian Cookery.

a course of appetizers consisting of an assortment of foods, as olives, anchovies, sliced sausage, peppers, and artichoke hearts.

Origin of antipasto

1580–90; < Italian, equivalent to anti- (< Latin ante- ante-) + pasto food < Latin pāstus pasturage, feeding ground, orig. the act of feeding, equivalent to pās- stem of pāscere to feed + -tus suffix of v. action

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for antipasto

starter, cocktail, canape, dip, tidbit, taste, sample, spread, relish, aperitif, munchies

British Dictionary definitions for antipasto

antipasto

noun plural -tos

a course of hors d'oeuvres in an Italian meal

Word Origin for antipasto

Italian: before food

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for antipasto

1934, from Italian antipasto, from anti- "before" (see ante) + pasto "food," from Latin pascere "to feed" (see pastor). Earlier anglicized as antepast (1590).