
An hors d'oeuvre (/ɔːr ˈdɜːrv, ˈdɜːrvrə/; French: hors d'œuvre, [also hors d'oevre] [ɔʁ dœvʁ]), appetizer, or starter is a small dish served before a meal. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the meal, or they may be served before seating. Formerly, hors d'oeuvres were also served between courses.
Typically smaller than a main dish, it is often designed to be eaten by hand (with minimal use of cutlery).
== Names ==
Hors d'oeuvre [hors d'oevre] in French means "outside the work"—that is, "not part of the ordinary se...