What does the French word épicerie mean? I see the word quite often in Montreal - it's written on cornershop windows as one the things available to buy, along with tabac (cigarettes) and loto (lottery). At first I thought it had something to do with épices (spices), as if all these newsagents are well-stocked in majoram, rosemary and oregano.

Then I google translated épicerie and received the word 'grocery'. I had an 'aha!' moment. These shops were selling food.

But I wasn't quite satisfied. The word 'groceries' conjures up the image of fruit and veg, fresh food, bread... but these shops aren't selling this at all. French in Quebec is slightly different to that of France. It's like how American English is different to British English.

Today I looked over my receipt from IGA (a supermarket chain). Everything was grouped together... viande (meat), fruits/legumes (fruit & veg), épicerie... under which were the cans of beans and chickpeas I bought. Another 'aha!' moment.

So, what I think épicerie means in Québec is: canned food, dried food, stuff that's not fresh.

Now excuse me while I smoke my tabac and wait for the results of this week's loto.