Etymologically
Log in

crepe

Etymology and origin of the English word crepe

History Permalink
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin crispus
English crepe

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kɹeɪp/, /kɹɛp/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French crêpe,[2][3][4][5][6] from Old French crespe “curly; a frill”,[2][3][4] from Latin crispus (“curled, wrinkled”).[2][3][4][6] It is a doublet of crape and related to crisp.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A crape-like fabric, especially one that is white or coloured rather than black for mourning (1797; 1750 in Merriam-Webster).[3][4][7][5]

Semantic evolution

The sense of a small, thin pancake, from French galette crêpe, is recorded from 1877,[3][4][7] though similar recipes called crispes appear in English cookery books from the late 14th century.[4] Crêpe rubber in crinkled sheets dates from 1907,[7] crepe paper from 1895,[3][4] and crêpe suzette from about 1910.[4]

Timeline

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A light, thin fabric of silk, cotton, wool or other fibre with a crinkled surface.
  2. A very thin, small pancake, often filled and rolled or folded.
  3. A band of crape worn in mourning.
  4. Crepe paper, a thin crinkled tissue paper.
  5. Crude rubber in crinkled sheets, used for shoe soles.

Verb

  1. To cover or drape with crepe.

Word family

  • crepehanger
  • crepon
  • crepe de Chine
  • crape
  • crisp
  • crumpet

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Crepe.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/crepe. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·