caviar
The definition of caviar is pickled or salted eggs of sturgeon or other large fish which is often eaten as an appetizer and is generally considered a delicacy.
(noun)Masses of eggs from a salmon that are spread on crackers and served in a very fancy restaurant is an example of caviar.
See caviar in Webster's New World College Dictionary
or caviare
noun
Origin: Fr < It caviale < Turk khāvyār < Pers khāviyār < khāya, egg + -dār, bearing: orig., spawning fish, hence, roe
See caviar in American Heritage Dictionary 4
also cav·i·are
nounOrigin:
Origin: Alteration of caviarie (probably from obsolete Italian caviari, pl. of caviaro)
Origin: or from French caviare
Origin: , both from Turkish havyar
Origin: , from Persian khāvyār
Origin: ; akin to khāyah, egg
Origin: , from Middle Persian khāyak; see awi- in Indo-European roots
. Word History: Although caviar might seem to be something quintessentially Russian, the word caviar is not, the native Russian term being ikra. Caviar first came into English in the 16th century, probably by way of French and Italian, which borrowed it from Turkish havyar. The source of the Turkish word is apparently an Iranian dialectal form related to the Persian word for “egg,” khāyah, and this in turn goes back to the same Indo-European root that gives us the English words egg and oval. This rather exotic etymology is appropriate to a substance that is not to everyone's taste, giving rise to Shakespeare's famous phrase, “ 'twas caviary to the general,” the general public, that is.Learn more about caviar
