system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
EL15: Why in US restaurants, the main part of the meal is called the 'Entree'?

I'm from New Zealand, and have travelled to (and eaten in) a fair few countries. In my experience, in NZ, in Australia & in England, 'entree' refers to the starter, while main meals are just called 'mains'. In France, where the word originates from, 'entree' also means 'starter' (I assume because it's the 'entry' to the meal).
So how come Americans use the word to refer to a different thing?
gpt
Hey there buddy. The following explanation comes from a website specializing in word origins. 

Actually, there is indeed a good explanation for why Americans do this.  They got it from the English.  At some point in the 18th century, the English began using entree to mean "a ‘made dish’, served between the fish and the joint".   But in French, entrée  was defined as "qui se servent au commencement du repas" ("serving as the commencement of a meal").  So the English got it wrong first, and that "wrong" meaning simply stuck in America once it arrived here, while the French doubtless harangued the English so much about misuse of the term that the meaning was corrected in the U.K. (well, maybe not, but...).

In America the word eventually came to refer not to the 'made dish' (which was often a ham) but to the main course (usually a ham or some other meat).