Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pancake” come from?

Pancake comes from Middle English pancake, combining Middle English panne from Old Norse kaka, ultimately tracing through Latin pannus, penna, and pinna in a complex etymological path.

pancake (English): A thin batter cake fried in a pan or on a griddle...

Definitions

  1. A thin batter cake fried in a pan or on a griddle...

Ancestry of “pancake”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishpancakepancake
2Middle EnglishpanneA pan, skillet, tin, or cookpot; any metal...
3Old Englishpannepan, frying pan
4Proto-West Germanicpannāpan
5Proto-Germanicpannǭpan
6Latinpannabroad cooking vessel; frying pan; pan
7Latinpatīna—
8Ancient Greekπατάνηkind of flat dish
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpet-ano—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpete-to spread, stretch out
11Proto-Finnicete-—
12Serbo-Croatiantẹ́—
13Proto-Slavictainflection of *tъ: ## feminine singular ##...

Words derived from “pancake”

  • pancakelike
  • pancakey
  • panquequería
  • panqueque
  • panqueca
  • 班戟
  • パンケーキ
  • 팬케이크
  • epankeik
Every word from Proto-Slavic ta →