Canapé
Meaning
A bit of bread or toast with a savory on top. An hors d’oeuvre. A small bite to eat.
The name is fancy and evokes images of small rounds of crackers topped with caviar or salmon; little pillows of bread topped with liver paté or herbed cheese; or toast cut into shapes and slathered with seasoned butter and mushrooms.
Word History
But the name originates with a mosquito! In ancient Greek, a mosquito was called a “kōnōps.” And a couch hung with a curtain to keep out the mosquitos was called a “kōnōpian.” The Romans borrowed this useful piece of furniture and called it “canopeum.”
The English saw the curtains and developed the word “canopy” for hanging bed linens. The French saw the couch and used the word “canapé” for it. And then French chefs in their gastronomic circles thought their small appetizers looked like little couches and so they adapted the word “canapé” for their savory-topped bits of bread.
While English kept “canopy” for hanging bed curtains and extended it to shade coverings of all kinds, as in a tree canopy, it also liked hors d’oeuvres. So the English incorporated the French version “canapé” for the delightful small appetizers whipped up in the kitchen and served at social events.
Sources
Information from The Merriam Webster New Book of Word Histories and The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.