caviar

or cav·i·are

[ kav-ee-ahr, kav-ee-ahr ]

/ ˈkæv iˌɑr, ˌkæv iˈɑr /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR caviar ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the roe of sturgeon, especially the beluga, or other fish, usually served as an hors d'oeuvre or appetizer.

RELATED WORDS

delicacy, relish, roe

Nearby words

Origin of caviar

1585–95; apparently back formation from caviarie (taken, perhaps rightly, as caviar + plural ending, Latin or Italian -i), of uncertain origin; compare Italian caviaro, Turkish havyar

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

Examples from the Web for caviar

They ate stuffed turkey, caviar, fresh salmon, and smoked trout.
Pablo Escobar’s Private Prison Is Now Run by Monks for Senior Citizens|Jeff Campagna|June 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But for me it was better than the caviar at the home of the Ambassador of the United States.
Putin vs. Humanity|James Kirchick|May 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He had pigeons flown in from Cairo and a fridge permanently full of caviar.
The Week in Death: Clarissa Dickson Wright, One of ‘Two Fat Ladies’|The Telegraph|March 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Zahedi offered champagne and caviar; Orfila tango lessons.
My Time With Betty Ford|Sandra McElwaine|July 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Is it just a question of getting used to life without oysters and caviar?
The Gulf's Bigger Oil Disaster|Alanna Mitchell|September 11, 2010|DAILY BEAST
That was the highest token of esteem, for caviar is not a home product; one has to buy it.
A Family of Noblemen|Mikhal Saltykov
Then you spread butter on a small slice of raisin bread, and cover it with a liberal portion of caviar.
Revolution|Dallas McCord Reynolds
Mingle cream with the caviar, and none who eats will have cause to complain.
The Feasts of Autolycus|Elizabeth Robins Pennell
He stabbed at his canap of caviar with his fork as if he hated it, ate but a morsel of it, and turned aside in his chair.
What Will People Say?|Rupert Hughes
With reduced speed we went toward the “caviar sandwich,” as Petersen called the dark spotted surface before us.
The Adventures of the U-202|E. Spiegel

British Dictionary definitions for caviar

caviar

caviare

/ (ˈkævɪˌɑː, ˌkævɪˈɑː) /

noun

the salted roe of sturgeon, esp the beluga, usually served as an hors d'oeuvre

Word Origin for caviar

C16: from earlier cavery, from Old Italian caviari, plural of caviaro caviar, from Turkish havyār

CAVIAR

/ (ˈkævɪˌɑː) /

n acronym for

Cinema and Video Industry Audience Research

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 caviar

caviar

also caviare, 1550s, from French caviar (16c.), from Italian caviaro (modern caviale) or Turkish khaviar, from Persian khaviyar, from khaya "egg" (from Middle Persian khayak "egg," from Old Iranian *qvyaka-, diminutive of *avya-, from PIE *owyo-/*oyyo- "egg" see egg (n.)) + dar "bearing."