pastrami

[ puh-strah-mee ]

noun

1. a brisket of beef that has been cured in a mixture of garlic, peppercorns, sugar, coriander seeds, etc., then smoked before cooking.

pastrami

/ pəˈstrɑːmɪ /

noun

1. highly seasoned smoked beef, esp prepared from a shoulder cut

Word History and Origins

Origin of pastrami¹

1935–40; < Yiddish pastrame < Romanian pastramă pressed, cured meat; a Balkanism of uncertain origin (compare Modern Greek pastramâs, Serbo-Croatian pȁstrma ), perhaps ultimately < Turkish pastιrma, taken as variant of bastιrma, equivalent to bastιr-, causative stem of bas- press, squeeze + -ma verbal noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of pastrami¹

from Yiddish, from Romanian pastramǎ, from pǎstra to preserve

Example Sentences

When I wrote about Norm Langer saying he might retire and close his Westlake restaurant because of festering problems in the neighborhood, Bass went to hear him out over a pastrami sandwich.

From Los Angeles Times

Bass ordered pastrami on rye and took notes as Langer described the challenge of maintaining a business when customers have been falling away after decades of loyalty.

From Los Angeles Times

One day, 65-year-old customer Robert Bihr was working on a pastrami sandwich in the booth next to us and said he’s been coming in since he was 10.

From Los Angeles Times

But as Levy slept weakly in the mud, dreaming of pastrami and other treats back home, he is startled by the sound of motors — airplanes clearly marked as American.

From Seattle Times

The Reuben and hot pastrami sandwiches will warm up diners from the inside.

From Seattle Times