liverwurst
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of liverwurst
1865–70, half translation, half adoption of German Leberwurst
Explanation
Liverwurst is a savory spread or sliceable sausage made of meat and spices. Your grandpa's favorite sandwich might be liverwurst and onion on white bread, while you prefer peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat. It's common for liverwurst to be a pâté-like paste that you spread on crackers or bread, but this meaty treat is actually a kind of sausage. Made from the livers of pigs or calves, liverwurst is much more popular in European countries than the U.S. You might have guessed this from its German-sounding name, a partial translation of Leberwurst, "liver sausage." In fact, Germans are especially enthusiastic about liverwurst and claim many distinct variations on the basic recipe.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Day opened a pack of smelly liverwurst and covered her hands in it.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 20, 2023
“One of his favorites was, like, liverwurst and pickles,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2022
Since it's French, chic diners view pâté as a gourmet food as opposed to the reputation liverwurst or its smoked and spiced cousin Braunschweiger carry.
From Salon • Aug. 27, 2022
"European fans of frogs, liverwurst and spaghetti" loved visiting Kyiv, he wrote.
From BBC • Jun. 16, 2022
Inside were stored various bits of food he had collected—a piece of fruit, samples of candy, or the butt-end of a liverwurst.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
