épicerie fine

I’ve been looking into the roots of the French word épicerie, the name of many shops in French villages — and it turns out it started with spices. Think saffron, dried fruit, pepper… the sort of things an épicier might have sold in the 1200s, when these weren’t just ingredients, but luxuries.

These days it just means a small corner shop — but the word still carries a sense of something select. Especially in the phrase épicerie fine, a French shop that is more akin to a delicatessen.

#greatexpectationseducation #etymology #spices #howwordswork #literacy #teaching #spld #vocabulary #frenchvocabulary #reading