The term charcuterie (meaning “meat delicatessen”) was adopted in the mid-19th century from the French word charcuterie, which primarily referred to a “pork-butcher’s shop”. More literally, it translates to a “cooked flesh shop” as it originates from the archaic term char, signifying “flesh”; cuit, the past participle of cuire, meaning “to cook”; and the suffix -erie, typically used for establishments that sell goods. Char has its roots in the Latin word carnem, also denoting “flesh” (seen in words like carnivore, carnage, and carnival), which, through Proto-Italic karo, can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European sker, meaning “piece” or “portion”. On the other hand, cuire is derived from Latin coquere, which also meant “to cook” (responsible for terms like concoct, cuisine, and culinary) and has its origins in PIE.
