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prettygoodwordbeignet (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.
