beignet (ben-YEY, be-nye) - n., (USA) a kind of hole-less doughnut, usually square and served covered in powdered sugar; (UK) a fritter: fruit, vegetables, etc. dipped in batter and deep-fried.
The counties indicated are not exact, but rather represent the means of transmission: the doughnut, a New Orleans specialty, comes via Louisiana French while the fritter is from continental French cooking -- which latter was the original meaning. In Middle French it was spelled bignet, from Old French bignet (dating to at least the 14th century), a diminutive of Old French bigne/bugne/buyne, a lump, a swelling, from Germanic roots (and cognate with bunion and bunch).
---L.
The counties indicated are not exact, but rather represent the means of transmission: the doughnut, a New Orleans specialty, comes via Louisiana French while the fritter is from continental French cooking -- which latter was the original meaning. In Middle French it was spelled bignet, from Old French bignet (dating to at least the 14th century), a diminutive of Old French bigne/bugne/buyne, a lump, a swelling, from Germanic roots (and cognate with bunion and bunch).
---L.
no subject
Date: 2013-01-28 02:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-28 02:58 pm (UTC)(Around here, it's more often funnel cakes and frybread.)
---L.