Ca-viare' or Cāv'i-ār, n.

n. [Fr. caviar, Sp. cabial, cabiar, It. caviale, N. Gr. χαβιάρι, from Turk. haviār.] The roes of certain large fish, prepared and salted;—used as a relish, especially in Russia.

Caviare was considered a delicacy, by some, in Shakespeare's time, but was not relished by most. Hence Hamlet says of a certain play, “'Twas caviare to the general,” i. e., to the common people, who could not relish or understand it.