Food & drinkFrom names to wordsMyths & disputes

hamburger

A 'Hamburg steak' was minced beef in the style of the port city of Hamburg, known to German emigrants sailing to America; put in a bun it became the hamburger, and 'burger' was then cut loose as if it were a word. American fast food then carried the hamburger back to Germany and on to nearly every language on earth.

Weakest linkCertain

The story you may have heard

That a hamburger is named for ham; the 'ham' is the city of Hamburg, and 'burger' was later split off by mistake.

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1700German

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