biscuit English · revision 2386

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbɪs.kɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|bisquite]], ''besquite'',^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|bescuit]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) from ''(pain) bescuit'' “twice-cooked bread”,^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) from ''bes'' “twice” (Latin ''bis'') and ''cuit'' “cooked”, the past participle of ''cuire'' “to cook”, from Latin ''coquere''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU)^(AHD) Compare [[la-med|biscoctum|t=twice-baked]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD) The Old French form was altered under the influence of Old Italian ''biscotto'',^(Etymonline) and the English spelling ''biscuit'' was reborrowed from French in the 19th century, replacing ''bisket''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A kind of crisp, dry, hard bread baked in thin flat cakes (1330).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Barnhart dates the form ''besquite'' to before 1338.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Biscuits were originally baked twice so that they would keep, and were long a staple for sailors and soldiers.^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary) In Britain the word kept to crisp baked goods, crackers and cookies, while in America it was applied to a small soft bun or quick bread by 1818.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) From the colour, it named a light brown (1884),^(OED 1989) and from the twice-fired idea, pottery fired once but not yet glazed (1791).^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1330 – a crisp dry bread baked in flat cakes.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1791 – ''(pottery)'' ware fired once but not glazed.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1818 – ''(US)'' a small soft bread or bun.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 16th century – spelled ''bisket''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 19th century – the spelling ''biscuit'' reborrowed from French.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1884 – the light brown colour of biscuits.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1907 – ''to take the biscuit''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(chiefly UK)'' A small, flat, dry and crisp baked good; a cookie or cracker.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(US)'' A small soft cake of quick bread, leavened with baking powder or soda.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Earthenware or porcelain after the first firing and before glazing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A pale brown or greyish yellow colour.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[biscuity]]

+ * [[biscuitlike]]

+ * [[biscuit ware]]

+ * [[dog biscuit]]

+ * [[sea biscuit]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[biscotti]]

+ * [[cook]]

+ * [[bisque]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}