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Webster 1913 Edition

crumpet

crump′et

(krŭmp′ĕt)
,
Noun.
[Prob. from W.
crempog
,
crammwgth
, a pancake or fritter.]
1.
A kind of large, thin, unsweetened muffin or cake, light and spongy, and cooked on a griddle or spider, or sometimes toasted.

Webster 1828 Edition

Crumpet

CRUMPET

,
Noun.
A soft cake.

Definition 2024

crumpet

crumpet

English

A buttered crumpet

Noun

crumpet ‎(plural crumpets)

  1. A type of savoury cake, typically flat and round, made from batter and yeast, containing many small holes and served toasted, usually with butter.
  2. (Britain, slang, uncountable) A person (or, collectively, persons), especially female, considered sexually desirable.
    Joan Bakewell was famously described as "the thinking man's crumpet".
    John and his mates have gone out to find themselves some crumpet.

Derived terms

Related terms

See also

Translations

References

Etymology

17th century, either from crompid cake ‎(“wafer, literally, curled-up cake”), from crompid, form of crumpen ‎(“to curl up”); cognate to crumpled. Alternate etymology is from Celtic; compare Breton krampouezh ‎(“crepe, pancake”) and Welsh crempog ‎(“pancake”).

Sense of “desirable woman” attested 1936, possibly as cockney rhyming slang for strumpet; alternatively, compare tart ‎(“loose woman, prostitute”) (itself possibly cockney rhyming slang for heart or sweetheart). Note that muffin has a similar sense, and that, in 19th and early 20th centuries, "Muffins and crumpets" was a familiar street-cry in UK.

Pronunciation

  • krŭm'pĭt,
  • IPA(key): /ˈkrʌmpɪt/

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