What does frankfurter mean?
A frankfurter is a smooth-textured, lightly smoked sausage, typically made from finely ground beef or a blend of beef and pork, and encased in a thin skin. It takes its name from the German city of Frankfurt am Main, where sausages of this kind were made and sold long before the term crossed into English. Today the frankfurter is best known as the sausage at the heart of the hot dog, served in a split soft roll and topped with condiments such as mustard, ketchup, relish, or sauerkraut. It is also sliced and added to everyday dishes like casseroles, bean stews, and potato bakes. Informal and firmly associated with picnics, ballparks, street food, and childhood meals, the word carries a casual, nostalgic connotation. While closely linked to the terms wiener and hot dog, frankfurter specifically denotes the sausage itself rather than the completed sandwich, making it a precise and widely understood culinary term throughout the English-speaking world.
nounA seasoned, smoked sausage, typically made of beef or a beef-and-pork mixture, served in a long soft roll as a hot dog.
- A smooth, smoked sausage of beef or beef and pork, eaten in a bun or sliced into other dishes.
"She grilled the frankfurters until their skins split and served them in toasted buns with mustard."
"He roasted a frankfurter over the campfire and tucked it into a soft white bun."
"The recipe calls for sliced frankfurters fried with potatoes and onions."
The plural is regular; the word is almost always used in the plural when referring to packaged or cooked quantities.
"We bought two packs of frankfurters for the barbecue."
The frankfurter is named after Frankfurt, Germany, where a similar sausage was sold centuries before it became the star of American ballparks and backyard barbecues.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of frankfurter
The word frankfurter comes from Frankfurt am Main in Germany, where a similar smoked sausage had been produced since at least the nineteenth century, and the name simply means 'of Frankfurt'. It entered English through German immigration, particularly in the United States, where the sausage became central to hot dog culture. The city's name itself derives from the Franks, a Germanic people, so the word ultimately shares its origin with 'Frank' and the adjective 'frank', meaning free or open.
How frankfurter is actually used
The word is informal to neutral in register and is especially common in American usage; 'wiener' is a close American alternative, while British English more often uses 'sausage' or 'hot dog'. The term refers to the sausage itself rather than the assembled sandwich.
Easily confused with frankfurter
A frankfurter is the sausage itself, while a hot dog usually refers to the whole dish of the sausage served in a sliced bun with condiments.