deli

Attested since 1954. Clipping of delicatessen, from German Delikatessen, plural of Delikatesse (“delicacy, fine food”), from French délicatesse, derived from the adjective délicat, from Latin delicatus.

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛli/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophone: Delhi
• Rhymes: -ɛli

deli (plural delis)

1. (informal) A shop that sells cooked or prepared food ready for serving.

   Delis usually offer a broader, fresher menu than fast food chains.

   • 2013 July 26, Nick Miroff, “Mexico gets a taste for eating insects …”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 32:

     The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard-to-find critters such as ostrich, wild boar and crocodile.

   • 2022 January 12, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: the nation's finest stations: London Bridge”, in RAIL, number 948, page 31:

     Part of the 'western arcade' (as it's known) is lined with delis, cafes and other shops, giving it the feeling of a bazaar.

2. (informal) Food sold at a delicatessen.

• deli meat

• Diel, IDLE, Idle, Lide, diel, eild, idle, lied

Borrowed from Turkish deli (“mad, insane”), perhaps via Serbo-Croatian dèli (“brave”).^[1] Doublet of dalia.

• IPA^(key): [ˈdɛli]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: de‧li
• Rhymes: -li

deli (comparative delibb, superlative legdelibb)

1. (rare, literary) stalwart, athletic (figure), well-built (person)

• deli in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• deli in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

deli

1. inflection of delir:
   1. first-person singular preterite indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

deli (Cyrillic spelling дели)

1. inflection of deliti:
   1. third-person singular present
   2. second-person singular imperative

Borrowed from English deli.

deli c

1. a simpler restaurant (selling lighter meals, for examples sandwiches and salads)
2. a deli shop or deli section (at a retail store)

Perhaps borrowed from Turkish deli.

deli (comparative mer deli, superlative mest deli)

1. (slang) stupid, retarded

• deli in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• Slangopedia

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish دلی (deli), from Old Anatolian Turkish دلو (delü), from Proto-Turkic *tēlbe (“mad, crazy”). Doublet of Tilbe. Cognate of Turkmen däli, Azerbaijani dəli, Salar delli, and Tatar тиле (tile).

• IPA^(key): /deˈli/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -i
• Hyphenation: de‧li

deli

1. crazy, mad, insane

   Synonym: çılgın

2. extreme

   Synonyms: azgın, ölçüsüz

3. whimsical, eccentric, quirky, bizarre, odd, given to quirks or idiosyncrasies, strange in a somewhat silly, manner
4. inconsiderate, thoughtless, unthoughtful, not considerate, showing lack of due thought or care for the other people
5. rash, foolhardy, reckless, impulsive, precipitate, acting too quickly without considering the consequences and risks

deli (definite accusative deliyi, plural deliler)

1. a crazy person

   Synonyms: çatlak, çılgın

2. a fanatic

   köpek delisi ― a dog fanatic

3. (historical) , a member of a light cavalry unit within the Ottoman Empire created to act as a shock troop

• → Swedish: deli

• “deli”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Ayverdi, İlhan (2010) “deli”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “deli”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• “deli”, in Türkiye'de halk ağzından derleme sözlüğü [Compilation Dictionary of Popular Speech in Turkey] (in Turkish), Ankara: Türk Dil Kurumu, 1963–1982

deli

1. accusative singular of del

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛlɨ̞/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈdeːli/, /ˈdɛli/

deli

1. second-person singular present indicative/future of dal

deli

1. soft mutation of teli