word of the day: raclette

The word of the day is raclette:

Etymology:  < French raclette (small) scraper (1788), traditional melted cheese dish, (also) type of cheese used in preparing the dish (1896), (in archaeology) stone tool of the scraper type discovered in the valley of the Vézère in south-west France

1.a. A scraper, a strigil. (Now only in sense 1b). 

b. Archaeol. A stone tool of the scraper type discovered in the valley of the Vézère in south-west France, and dating from the early Magdalenian period. 

2. Cookery. A dish traditionally made in parts of Switzerland and France, consisting of melted cheese served with potatoes, pickled onions, and gherkins; cheese of the type used in this dish. (OED)

"France, at Old Billingsgate, the former fish market, was a corporate scene.  But Switzerland had erected a climbing wall in the shadow of Southwark Cathedral.  Nice spread.  Appenzeller on tap, the air funky with the smell of raclette."

 - Lauren Collins, "Olympics postcard: Globe-trotter", 13 & 20 August 2012 The New Yorker