zakuska, n.

zakuska
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zakuska_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1986; not fully revised

# zakuskanoun

## Earlier version

- zakuska in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zakuska mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zakuska. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

#### Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

### How common is the noun zakuska?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1880 | 0.0068
1890 | 0.0067
1900 | 0.0065
1910 | 0.0067
1920 | 0.0066
1930 | 0.0063
1940 | 0.0058
1950 | 0.0045
1960 | 0.0039
1970 | 0.0034
1980 | 0.0025
1990 | 0.0023
2000 | 0.0024
2010 | 0.0024

### How is the noun zakuska pronounced?

#### British English

/zəˈkuːskə/

### Where does the noun zakuska come from?

Earliest known use

1880s

The earliest known use of the noun zakuska is in the 1880s.

OED's earliest evidence for zakuska is from 1885, in the writing of Augustus J. C. Hare, author.

zakuska is a borrowing from Russian.

Etymons: Russian zakúska.

### Nearby entries

1. Zaidi, n. 1709–
2. zaikai, n. 1968–
3. zaim, n. 1807–
4. zaire, n. 1967–
5. Zairean, n. & adj. 1972–
6. Zairese, adj. & n. 1974–
7. Zairois, n. & adj. 1973–
8. zaitech, n. 1986–
9. zakat, n. 1668–
10. Zakka Khel, n. 1860–
11. zakuska, n.1885–
12. zalambdodont, adj. 1885–
13. zalcitabine, n. 1991–
14. zamacueca, n. 1855–
15. Zamak, n. 1926–
16. zamang, n. 1819–
17. zamarra, n. 1841–
18. zama zama, n. 2006–
19. Zamazim, n. a1400–
20. Zambian, adj. & n. 1959–
21. Zambianization, n. 1964–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Russian.
Etymon: Russian zakúska.
< Russian zakúska (usually as plural zakúski).

## Meaning & use

1. 1885–
   An hors d'œuvre. Frequently plural
   The singular form has occasionally been construed as plural.
   1. 1885

      > The refreshment-room is enormous,..with a great buffet at one end, whither the Russians resort before dinner for the customary zakuska of pickles, sardines, vodki, &c.

      A. J. C. Hare, Studies in Russia v. 203
   2. 1919

      > The ‘Zakuska’ were on a side-table near the door—herrings and ham and smoked fish and radishes and mushrooms and tongue and caviare.

      H. Walpole, Secret City i. xii. 79
   3. 1920

      > It began with many zakuskas, consisting principally of dubious-looking tinned fish.

      E. Sykes & P. Sykes, Through Deserts & Oases of Central Asia iv. 73
   4. 1922

      > The emotion..was diverted by the appearance of two Chinese servants in long silk robes and four-sided hats with cocktails and zakouski.

      W. S. Maugham, On Chinese Screen vi. 27
   5. 1933

      > There were also little snippets of lobster in tomato cocktails, which were among the least successful of zakouska that I have ever known.

      H. Nicolson, Letter 7 November (1966) 156
   6. 1951

      > I detest crowds, harried waiters, Bohemians, vermouth concoctions, coffee, zakuski, floor shows and so forth.

      V. Nabokov, Speak, Memory xiv. 213
   7. 1981

      > The Zakouski, the borshch and the blini of his homeland.

      T. Keene, Skyshroud i. 18
   food and cooking
   1. smorgasbord 1879–
      The Swedish hors d'œuvres, typically comprising a cold table of open sandwiches served with an assortment of delicacies; also provided as a…
   2. zakuska 1885–
      An hors d'œuvre. Frequently plural
   3. cocktail 1896–
      figurative and in extended use. A dish consisting of small pieces of food, such as chopped fruit salad or shellfish in a sauce or seasoning, which is…
   4. stuffed olive 1897–
      A stoned (usually green) olive filled with pimento.
   5. meze 1904–
      In Turkish, Greek, and Middle Eastern cookery: a selection of hot or cold dishes, served usually as an hors d'oeuvre or with an aperitif; a single…
   6. pimento olive 1905–
      A pitted olive stuffed with a piece of sweet red pepper.
   7. party mix 1925–
      Chiefly North American. A mixture of confectionery or savoury snacks such as nuts, pretzels, etc., often bought pre-packaged and designed to be…
   8. pimiento olive 1925–
      = pimento olive, n.
   9. bridge mix 1927–
      Any of various small mixed snacks or nibbles of a type originally served at bridge parties; now spec. a confectionery mixture consisting of a…
   10. pupu 1950–
       In Hawaiian cuisine: a small savoury dish served as an appetizer.
   11. tapénade 1952–
       A Provençal dish, usually served as an hors d'œuvre, made principally from black olives, capers, and anchovies.
   12. tapas 1953–
       Usually with plural agreement. Occasionally in singular form tapa, with singular agreement. In Spanish bars or cafés: savoury snacks or hors…
   13. relish 1954–
       Something of savoury of piquant taste. A savoury course, esp. served as an addition to a meal; an appetizer, an hors d'oeuvre. Also figurative.
   14. pincho 1966–
       In Spanish and Basque cuisine: a small dish, typically served as an appetizer or snack. Cf. tapas, n.²
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zəˈkuːskə/

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

## Forms

### Variant forms

Also zakouska. Plural zakuskas, zakuski.

## Frequency

zakuska typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zakuska is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zakuska, n., 1880–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1880 | 0.0068
1890 | 0.0067
1900 | 0.0065
1910 | 0.0067
1920 | 0.0066
1930 | 0.0063
1940 | 0.0058
1950 | 0.0045
1960 | 0.0039
1970 | 0.0034
1980 | 0.0025
1990 | 0.0023
2000 | 0.0024
2010 | 0.0024

zakuska, n. was first published in 1986; not fully revised.

zakuska, n. was last modified in December 2024.