Can anyone inform me why in the U.S. and Canada, the main course of the meal is referred to (on the menu) as the entree.
Entree would seem to have come from the same root as “enter” which would seem to imply the start of the meal, rather than the major action…
Anyone?
Gp
Well, in French class when we did food we were taught that the entrée is just before the main course and after the hors d’ouevres. So you’re right about that, and the root of the word.
In a full fancy dinner, the entree would be the third course, after the hors d’ouevre and the fish, and before the roast. Now, of course, we don’t have such fancy meals, and don’t have both fish and roast, and therefore don’t need a course between them. So my guess is that the entree became the main course (after hors d’ouevres) because of the elimination of the specific fish and roast dishes from the full-course fancy meal. But that’s just my guess.
Here you go. It’s the last entry on the page. In short, the explanation given is that the British started using it differently than the original French meaning, the Americans (and I assume Canadians) got it from the British, changed it some more, et voila!