Funny enough, no one knows. It’s quite possible it comes from Hamburg or maybe was popularized in America by immigrants from there, but no conclusive link is known.
That may be the origin but the term has its own meaning and usage today. You can have a veggie-burger or a turkey-burger or salmon-burger. Why not the same construction with ham? A Ham-burger?
Because it’s too close so it would be confusing. You order a veggie burger or a turkey burger and you know what you’re getting. You order a hamburger and get ham, you’re likely gonna be confused.
It’s not a euphism, it developed in the English language because the aristocracy, which could actually afford meat and ate it regularly, spoke french, therfore using french terms for the meat e.g. Porcine -> pork or Bœuf -> beef ) wheras the farmers who actually raised and dealt with the animals, but rarely if ever could actually afford to eat them, used anglo saxon to refer to them, hence this dichotomy in names for meat vs. animal in English.
It has nothing to do with being a euphism. It’s also evident that the cheapest meat, and pretty much the only one that even peasants could somewhat regularly afford, chicken, did not undergo this split.
Less. A hamburger is a descendent of the Hamburg steak which is a ground beef patty. It’s got nothing to do with ham.
Does that mean porcelain isn’t for pork either?
Porc is the insurance branch of Pork, which isn’t allowed to do business claiming it performs porking services.
But what does that have to do with Hamburg?
Funny enough, no one knows. It’s quite possible it comes from Hamburg or maybe was popularized in America by immigrants from there, but no conclusive link is known.
That may be the origin but the term has its own meaning and usage today. You can have a veggie-burger or a turkey-burger or salmon-burger. Why not the same construction with ham? A Ham-burger?
Because it’s too close so it would be confusing. You order a veggie burger or a turkey burger and you know what you’re getting. You order a hamburger and get ham, you’re likely gonna be confused.
Good point, how about Ham-hamburger?
Why do we use euphemism after the animal is killed? Just call it what it is, a pig-burger.
It’s not a euphism, it developed in the English language because the aristocracy, which could actually afford meat and ate it regularly, spoke french, therfore using french terms for the meat e.g. Porcine -> pork or Bœuf -> beef ) wheras the farmers who actually raised and dealt with the animals, but rarely if ever could actually afford to eat them, used anglo saxon to refer to them, hence this dichotomy in names for meat vs. animal in English.
It has nothing to do with being a euphism. It’s also evident that the cheapest meat, and pretty much the only one that even peasants could somewhat regularly afford, chicken, did not undergo this split.