The Collaborative International Dictionary
Hors d'oeuvre \Hors` d'[oe]uvre"\; pl. Hors d'[oe]uveres. [F., lit., outside of work.]
Something unusual or extraordinary. [R.]
A dish served as a relish, usually at the beginning of a meal.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1714, as an adverb, "out of the ordinary," from French hors d'oeuvre, "outside the ordinary courses (of a meal)," literally "apart from the main work," from hors, variant of fors "outside" (from Latin foris; see foreign) + de "from" + oeuvre "work," from Latin opera (see opus). Meaning "extra dish set out before a meal or between courses" attested in English from 1742.
Wiktionary
n. 1 A small, light, and usually savory first course in a meal. 2 (context by extension English) Anything of secondary concern; not the primary thing. 3 (cx dated rare English) Something unusual or extraordinary.
n. (alternative spelling of hors d'oeuvre English)
WordNet
n. a dish served as an appetizer before the main meal
Wikipedia
An hors d'oeuvre (; ), appetizer, or starter is a small dish served before a meal. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table, or in the bedroom, as a part of the meal or they may be served before seating. Formerly, hors d'oeuvres were also served between courses.
Typically smaller than a main dish, it is often designed to be eaten by hand (with minimal use of cutlery).
Usage examples of "hors d'oeuvre".
I don't intend to end as an hors d'oeuvre for a jumped-up tin goddess.
The hors d'oeuvre was so lethally hot and spicy that it exploded on contact.
She and Haidar and Kirk, plus Scotty and Kostas, who had beamed up from the surface, were all in a tight group near the end of the hors d'oeuvre table.