beignet
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bei·gnet
(bĕn-yā′, bĕn′yā′)n. Southern Louisiana
1. A square doughnut with no hole: "a New Orleans coffeehouse selling beignets, an insidious Louisianian cousin of the doughnut that exists to get powdered sugar on your face" (Los Angeles Times).
2. A fritter.
[French, fritter, from Old French, from diminutive of beigne, bump, lump, of Celtic origin; akin to Welsh bôn, stump, base.]
Our Living Language New Orleans, Louisiana, has been a rich contributor of French loan words and local expressions to American English. Many New Orleans words, such as beignet, café au lait, faubourg, lagniappe, and krewe, reflect the New World French cuisine and culture characterizing this region. Other words reflect distinctive physical characteristics of the city: banquette, a raised sidewalk, and camelback and shotgun, distinctive architectural styles found among New Orleans houses.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
beignet
(ˈbɛnjeɪ)n
(Cookery) chiefly US and Canadian a square deep-fried pastry served hot and sprinkled with icing sugar
[C19: French bignet filled pastry, from buyne, literally: bump or lump]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
bei•gnet
(bɛnˈyeɪ)n.
a square doughnut or fritter dusted with powdered sugar.
[1830–35, Amer.; < Louisiana French; Middle French bignet filled pastry]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. | beignet - a deep-fried, yeast-raised doughnut dusted with confectioners' sugar friedcake - small cake in the form of a ring or twist or ball or strip fried in deep fat |
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