hors d'œuvreadv.n.
/ɔː ˈdəːv(rə)/ A. adv.
Out of the ordinary course of things.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > unaccustomedness or state of disuse > unaccustomed to [phrase] > out of the ordinary course of things
out of the road of1609
hors d'œuvre1715
1715 J. Addison Spectator No. 576. ¶5 The Frenzy of one who is given up for a Lunatick, is a Frenzy hors d'œuvre..something which is singular in its Kind.
B. n. [The plural, which remains unchanged in French, usually has -s in English.] figurative.1877 L. W. M. Lockhart Mine is Thine xiii Art and literature were for him the hors d'œuvres of life.
1. Something out of the ordinary course.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > unaccustomedness or state of disuse > [noun] > unwontedness or unusualness > something out of the ordinary course
hors d'œuvre1783
1783 H. Walpole Lett. to H. Mann 11 June (1858) VIII. 379 This is a hors d'œuvre, nor do I know a word of news.
2. An extra dish served as a relish to whet the appetite between the courses of a meal or (more generally) at its commencement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > meal > course > [noun] > hors d'oeuvre
hors d'œuvre1742
antipasto1934
crudités1960
1742 A. Pope New Dunciad 309 He..Try'd all hors-d'œuvres, all Liqueurs defin'd, Judicious drank, and greatly daring din'd.
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker II. 233 I have seen turnips make their appearance, not as a desert, but by way of hors d'oeuvres, or whets.
1898 Pall Mall Mag. Jan. 85 The more unpalatable is an hors d'œuvre [to him], the more fashionable is the dinner which it precedes.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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adv.n.1715