smörgås

Swedish

Etymology

Compound of smör (“butter”) +‎ gås (“goose”), originally referring to small pieces of butter that float to the surface of milk as it is churned. These were spread on bread, and gave the name to the combination of bread and butter (and other toppings).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsmœrˌɡoːs/, /ˈsmœrˌɡɔs/

• Audio (en smörgås)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: smör‧gås, definite: smör‧gås‧en

Noun

smörgås c (countable)

1. an (open) sandwich (slice(s) of bread with toppings, usually buttered)

   Synonym: macka c

   att bre sig en smörgås

   to make oneself a sandwich

Usage notes

• Open sandwiches are the most common type in Swedish cuisine. A sandwich with two pieces of bread can be qualified as a dubbelmacka.
• Almost always buttered (in addition to any toppings), unbuttered bread being considered dry.

Declension

Declension of smörgås
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	smörgås	smörgåsen	smörgåsar	smörgåsarna
Genitive	smörgås	smörgåsens	smörgåsars	smörgåsarnas

Derived terms

• dubbelsmörgås
• kasta smörgås
• korvsmörgås
• leverpastejsmörgås
• ostsmörgås
• räksmörgås
• skinksmörgås
• smörgåsbord
• smörgåsbricka
• smörgåsgaffel
• smörgåsgrill
• smörgåskrasse
• smörgåsmat
• smörgåsnisse
• smörgåspaket
• smörgåspapper
• smörgåspålägg
• smörgåstårta

 

References

• smörgås in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• smörgås in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• smörgås in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• smörgås in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)