Definition of pastrami

< past perfect

pastry >

pas·tra·mi    (p-sträm) KEY 

NOUN:
pl. pas·tra·mis

A highly seasoned smoked cut of beef, usually taken from the shoulder.

---

ETYMOLOGY:
Yiddish pastrame, from Romanian pastram, from pstra, to preserve, from Vulgar Latin *parsitre, to spare, save, from parsus, past participle of Latin parcere, to be thrifty with