What does deli mean?
A deli is a shop — or a counter within a larger store — that sells ready-to-eat foods such as sliced meats, cheeses, salads, and made-to-order sandwiches. The word is an informal shortening of delicatessen, a term borrowed into English from German in the nineteenth century, and it has since become so common that many speakers rarely use the longer form. Delis are strongly associated with urban food culture, particularly Jewish-American delicatessens famous for pastrami, corned beef, and rye bread, though the term applies to any similar establishment, including the packaged section of a supermarket. Connotations are casual and appetizing: grabbing lunch at the deli suggests convenience, freshness, and local character. In some regions, especially New York City, a deli doubles as a general convenience store. The plural is formed regularly as delis.
A shop selling prepared foods such as cheeses, cold cuts, salads, and sandwiches, typically for takeaway; short for delicatessen.
"There's a great little deli two blocks from the station."
Informal but standard; plural is delis.
The counter or section of a supermarket or larger store where sliced meats, cheeses, and similar prepared foods are sold.
"Pick up some ham at the deli while you're doing the shopping."
The regular English plural is formed by adding -s; no apostrophe is used.
"The city's best delis all seem to open before dawn."
Deli is just a clipped form of the German-borrowed 'Delikatessen' — Americans were shortening it by the mid-20th century, and now most people never say the long version at all.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of deli
Deli is a clipped form of delicatessen, which entered English via German Delikatessen in the nineteenth century, ultimately deriving from French délicatesse and Latin delicatus, meaning delicate or luxurious. The shortened form arose in American English in the twentieth century as part of the natural tendency to abbreviate long borrowed words. It shares this Latin root with words such as delicate, delicacy, and delicious.
How deli is actually used
Deli is informal but fully standard in everyday speech; in very formal writing, delicatessen may be preferred. In American usage, especially in New York City, 'the deli' often means a small neighborhood convenience store that also makes sandwiches. The word takes an anglicized plural, 'delis'.
Easily confused with deli
Delicatessen is the full-length formal word for such a shop (or its specialty foods), while deli is simply its informal shortened form.