CANAPÉ, CANAPE, CANAPES
A canapé is a cracker or small slices of bread or toast cut in various shapes and garnished with savory foods, such as cheese, meat, purees, foie gras, or relish.
The origin of the word canape is a curious one.
• In ancient Greece, a 'konops' was a mosquito. Hang curtains around a couch to keep the mosquitos away and they called it a 'konopion'.
• The Romans adapted this word as 'conopeum', which shows up later in Medieval Latin as 'canopeum’, and from there makes its way into Middle English as 'canope' as the name for the curtain, and eventually spelled canopy.
• The French used the word 'canapé' for the couch, rather than the curtain. Some thought a piece of toast topped with a savory food looked like a couch (canapé) and so the word took on an additional meaning in French, and we have now borrowed the word into English.
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