muffin English · revision 1136

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmʌf.ɪn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Its origin is uncertain.^(RHWU) It is possibly from Low German ''muffen'', the plural of ''muffe'' “small cake”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) or connected with Old French ''moflet'' “soft” (of bread).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A light, flat, round, spongy cake, eaten toasted and buttered (1703, as ''moofin'').^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline notes that the old distinction between the muffin and the [[crumpet]] is not clear.^(Etymonline) ''Muffin-man'', a street seller of muffins, is recorded by 1754.^(Etymonline) In American English the word was extended to a cup-shaped quick bread,^(Etymonline)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) and the older flat kind became the ''English muffin''.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1703 – ''moofin'', a flat spongy cake.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1754 – ''muffin-man''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1830 – slang, one who muffs a catch.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small, cup-shaped [[quick bread]], often sweetened, baked in a pan with cuplike moulds.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An [[English muffin]], a flat round bun that is split, toasted and buttered.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(informal)'' A term of endearment.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[muffineer]]

+ * [[English muffin]]

+ * [[muffin pan]]

+ * [[muffin stand]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[crumpet]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}