SC - hors d'oeuvre (not so sure, if OOP)

[TG]

In dealing with the history of hors d'oeuvres, I think we must
distinguish between:

1. -- the word history of _hors d'oeuvre_ in English/American
2. -- the word history of _hors d'oeuvre_ in French
3. -- the history of appetizers whatever names they might have in
whatever language.

Ad 1.
In a previous post, we were given a date for the history of the word in
English (1714); however, according to the OED, the date given is related
to a different sense of _hors d'oeuvre_! The date quoted in the OED for
the culinary sense is 1742.

Here are the quotations from the OED:

- -- A. adv. Out of the ordinary course of things.
1714 Addison Spect. No. 576 _5 The Frenzy of one who is given up for a
Lunatick, is a Frenzy hors d'oeuvre something which is singular in its
Kind.

- -- B-2. An extra dish served as a relish to whet the appetite between
the courses of a meal or (more generally) at its commencement.
1742 Pope Dunc. iv. 317 He Try'd all hors-d'oeuvres, all liqueurs
defin'd, Judicious drank, and greatly-daring din'd.

In addition, the word history in English is only a minor detail in the
history of hors d'oeuvres, if I may say this on a list with many
speakers/ writers, whose native tongue is English.

Ad 2.
The history of French _hors d'oeuvre_ in the culinary sense is somewhat
older: the Petit Robert says 17th century. But it could be worth while
looking for earlier attestations in other dictionaries or in 16th
century culinary texts and feast reports.

Ad 3. The question whether or not there were, prior to 1600, appetizers
of the kind that were later called _hors d'oeuvre_ cannot be decided on
the grounds of word histories alone. In addition, we must look what the
menues, the feast descriptions and the cookbooks say.

I wish I had the time to dive into all the texts and dictionaries now
...

Th.