Question

réchauffé noun We borrowed réchauffé in the early 19th century from the French; it is the past participle of their verb réchauffer, which means "to reheat." Nineteenth-century French speakers were using it figuratively to designate something that was already old hat-you might say, "warmed over." English speakers adopted that same meaning, which is still our most common. But within decades someone had apparently decided that leftovers would seem more appealing with a French name. The notion caught on. A recipe for "Réchauffé of Beef a la Jardiniere," for example, instructs the cook to reheat "yesterday's piece of meat" in a little water with some tomatoes added, and serve it on a platter with peas and carrots and potatoes. Réchauffé shares its root with another English word, chafing dish, the name of a receptacle for keeping food warm at the table. 1 : something presented in a new form without change of substance : rehash2 : a warmed-over dish of food

Accepted Answer

December 16, 2014 ray-shoh-FAY The day after the holiday, it was traditional to serve réchauffés and snacks rather than cook a full meal.   "[It] is a réchauffé, … lifted and stitched from 'The Gastronomical Me' and other books." - Victoria Glendinning, New York Times Book Review, June 9, 1991

Word	réchauffé
Date	December 16, 2014
Type	noun
Syllables	ray-shoh-FAY
Etymology	We borrowed réchauffé in the early 19th century from the French; it is the past participle of their verb réchauffer, which means "to reheat." Nineteenth-century French speakers were using it figuratively to designate something that was already old hat-you might say, "warmed over." English speakers adopted that same meaning, which is still our most common. But within decades someone had apparently decided that leftovers would seem more appealing with a French name. The notion caught on. A recipe for "Réchauffé of Beef a la Jardiniere," for example, instructs the cook to reheat "yesterday's piece of meat" in a little water with some tomatoes added, and serve it on a platter with peas and carrots and potatoes. Réchauffé shares its root with another English word, chafing dish, the name of a receptacle for keeping food warm at the table.
Examples	The day after the holiday, it was traditional to serve réchauffés and snacks rather than cook a full meal. "[It] is a réchauffé, … lifted and stitched from 'The Gastronomical Me' and other books." - Victoria Glendinning, New York Times Book Review, June 9, 1991
Definition	1 : something presented in a new form without change of substance : rehash 2 : a warmed-over dish of food

Réchauffé French Speakers English Cook Serve Food December