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Etymology and origin of the English word cookie

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1703
Borrowed from
Dutch koekje
Ultimate origin
Dutch (koekje)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkʊki/[1]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from Dutch koekje (“little cake”), a diminutive of koek, cake, from Middle Dutch kōke (see cake).[2][3][4][5] In Scotland, where it means a plain bun (1701 in Barnhart, 1730 in Etymonline), the history is uncertain;[2][3] the Scottish National Dictionary compares Dutch koekje but gives cook with the suffix -ie as the probable source.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A small flat sweet cake: 1703, in American English, in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster;[2][5] Etymonline dates this sense by 1808.[3]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that Dutch influence also explains the parallel use in South African English.[3] The slang application to a person, a smart cookie, is from 1920,[6][3] a bomb in Air Force slang from 1943,[6] and the phrase that's the way the cookie crumbles from 1957.[6] In computing, a piece of data that a website stores on a user's computer is a recent sense.[7]

Timeline

  • 1701 – a bun (Scotland).[2]
  • 1703 – a small sweet cake (American).[2]
  • 1920 – a person (slang).[6]
  • 1943 – a bomb (RAF slang).[6]
  • 1957 – that's the way the cookie crumbles.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (chiefly North America) A small, flat, usually crisp sweet cake; a biscuit.
  2. (Scotland) A plain bun.
  3. (informal) A person of a particular kind: a smart cookie.
  4. (computing) A small piece of data stored on a user's computer by a website, identifying the user.

Word family

  • cookie-cutter
  • cookie press
  • cookie sheet
  • cookie jar

Usage notes

In Yorkshire dialect, a cookie was a child's pinafore.[8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Cookie.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/cookie. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·