pastrami

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Pronunciations

pastrami (pu-STRAH-mi) listen

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Definitions

  • n. Smoked, seasoned deli meat.

Example Sentences

  • "I'll have pastrami on rye, mustard, no mayo."

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Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish
  • Rumanian, Turkish

Etymology

  • Yiddish פּאַסטראַמע pastrame; Rumanian and Turkish pastirma

      • Who Uses This

      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
      • Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)

      Regions

      • North America
      • Australia / New Zealand
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • None

      Alternative Spellings

      pastrome, pastrame, pstromi

Notes

  • The word was introduced into American English by Yiddish-speaking Jews from Rumania in late-19th-century New York, based on Yiddish "pastrame / pstrome" (which is borrowed from Rumanian, originally from Turkish) and influenced in pronunciation by another deli meat, "salami" (Italian-origin). It has become so common in America that it is no longer considered a Jewish word.

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