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smor·gas·bord

(smôrgəs-bôrd′)

1. A buffet meal featuring a varied number of dishes.

2. A varied collection: "a smorgasbord of fashionable paranormal beliefs" (Martin Gardner).

[Swedish smörgåsbord : smörgås, open-faced sandwich (smör, butter from Old Norse smjör; akin to Old English smerian, to smear + Swedish dialectal gås, lump of butter, from Old Norse gās, goose; see GOSLING) + bord, table (from Old Norse bordh).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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