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Glite Dictionary
pate de foie gras

pate de foie gras

9.9
A rich smooth paste people make from goose liver and eat on bread
  • noun
  • /ˌpɑːteɪ də fwɑː ˈɡrɑː/
translation icon : paté de hígado de oca
  • The chef paired the pate de foie gras with freshly baked bread and fig jam.

Examples

  • The restaurant serves an exquisite pate de foie gras as an appetizer.

  • I love pate de foie gras on toast.

  • She brought home a jar of pate de foie gras from her trip to France.

  • Have you ever tried pate de foie gras?

  • The chef paired the pate de foie gras with freshly baked bread and fig jam.

  • The restaurant serves an exquisite pate de foie gras as an appetizer.

  • She brought home a jar of pate de foie gras from her trip to France.

Synonyms

foie gras
vspate de foie gras
17 9.9

A rich smooth spread made from the liver of a specially fattened goose or duck, served as a luxury

comes from goose liver only not from duck
pâté
vspate de foie gras
12 7.5

A soft, savory spread made from meat, fish or vegetables

is a specific rich smooth liver paste often marinated with Cognac and truffles
duck pâté
vspate de foie gras
1 8.4

A smooth spread made from duck liver, often served on bread

is made from goose liver and marinated with Cognac and truffles

Surface Forms

pate de foie gras singular
pates de foie gras plural

Morphology

pate + de + foie + gras

This is a literal French compound meaning 'paste of fatty liver' — pâté (paste) + de (of) + foie (liver) + gras (fatty). If a B1 learner knows the constituent words or their equivalents, the overall meaning is directly derivable and follows a transparent ‘X of Y’ noun composition common across languages.

Etymology

The noun pate de foie gras comes from French and names a rich liver spread: pate is a smooth paste, foie means 'liver', and gras means 'fat'. French cooks made geese livers very fat and mixed them into a creamy paste, so today the phrase means a smooth, rich liver paste served as a fancy starter.