muffin

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈmʌf.ɪn/^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.^[2] It is possibly from Low German muffen, the plural of muffe “small cake”,^[3][4][5][6] or connected with Old French moflet “soft” (of bread).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A light, flat, round, spongy cake, eaten toasted and buttered (1703, as moofin).^[4][5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that the old distinction between the muffin and the crumpet is not clear.^[5] Muffin-man, a street seller of muffins, is recorded by 1754.^[5] In American English the word was extended to a cup-shaped quick bread,^[5][3][6] and the older flat kind became the English muffin.^[3][2]

Timeline

• 1703 – moofin, a flat spongy cake.^[4][5][6][7]
• 1754 – muffin-man.^[5]
• 1830 – slang, one who muffs a catch.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A small, cup-shaped quick bread, often sweetened, baked in a pan with cuplike moulds.
2. An English muffin, a flat round bun that is split, toasted and buttered.
3. (informal) A term of endearment.

Word family

• muffineer
• English muffin
• muffin pan
• muffin stand

Related words

• crumpet

References

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