BURGER
The word burger has a strange history, which begins in the German city of Hamburg. As you might imagine, a steak of minced meat made in the style popular in Hamburg was once called a Hamburger steak. This was shortened to 'Hamburger', which became 'hamburger'. Then, presumably to emphasise that it was made from beef rather than ham, the name was changed to 'beefburger' and shortened again to 'burger'.
So, the term 'burger' is illogical, even incorrect, but like many similar words it does its job well and has therefore become a proper word. It can be used as an add-on or suffix after a range of other words to describe any slab or cake of processed meat usually sold in a bread bun - beef, chicken, turkey or lamb. If you're feeling a bit more adventurous, some places apparently sell crocodile, kangaroo or ostrich burgers.
A cheeseburger, however, is not a slab of cheese in a bun; it is a regular burger covered with cheese. The equivalent is true of chilli burgers and curry burgers. If you don't eat meat you can have a bean burger, a mushroom burger or a veggie burger, sometimes also called a vegetarian burger - though they are not actually made from vegetarians!
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