Caviar

Alternative forms

• caviare

Origin

From French caviar, from Turkish havyar, probably from Persian خاویار, from خایه (xâye, "egg").

Full definition of caviar

Noun

1. Roe of the sturgeon or other large fish, considered a delicacy.

Usage notes

A citation from Jehan Palsgrave's 1530 text Lesclarcissment de la langue françoyse reads "Calver of saulmon, escume de saulmon.". This possibly refers to caviar. If this is the case it predates by some 61 years the earliest usage (1591) of caviar documented in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Derived terms

• caviar to the general
• cowboy caviar

Anagrams

• Avaric