smorgasbord

Meaning

1. A Swedish-style buffet comprising a variety of cold sandwiches and other dishes; (by extension) any buffet with a wide selection of dishes.
2. (figuratively) An abundant and diverse collection of things.

Synonyms

variety

great number

mixed bag

assortment

miscellany

mixture

motley

buffet

potpourri

miscellanea

salmagundi

all-you-can-eat

hors d’oeuvres

multitude

relishes

Translations

varietà

assortiment

miscel·lània

Buffet

Vorspeise

skandinavisches Buffet

Smörgåsbord

Horsd’œuvre

συλλογή

ποικιλία

ποτ-πουρί

ποτπουρί

assortiment

mélange

pot-pourri

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈsmɔːɡæs(ˌ)bɔːd/

Etymology

Borrowed from Swedish smörgåsbord (“buffet with many small dishes; smorgasbord”), from smörgås (“sandwich”) + bord (“table”). Smörgås is from Swedish smör (“butter”) + gås (“goose”), a reference to pieces of butter which float to the surface of milk when churned.