Talk:Delicatessen

Delikatessen does not mean "delicate food". This could be an erroneous interpretation from "delikat"(adj.) + "Essen" (n., something to eat) which is correctly "delikates Essen". Yet "Delikatessen" simply is the plural of "Delikatesse" (delicacy).

Given the existence of a proper English version of the word it was never quite plain to me why the German word is used for some type of food stores (?) in the US. (Presumably because it used to be written on the front of such stores run by German descendants at some time in the past - spelled with latinic "c" which makes the word appear even more 'delicate' to German speakers -, but that's no reason not to turn to "delicacies", which is the very same word with the English plural)

As a native German speaker I would simply expect a high class grocery store when entering a "Delicatessen" shop.