Croissants
/ˈkrwɑː.sɒ̃/noun
Flaky, crescent-shaped pastries made from laminated yeast dough.
Did you know?Croissant is the French present participle of “croître,” meaning “to grow,” and its pastry sense refers specifically to the crescent shape, not originally to a mystical lunar ritual.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ker-
“To grow or increase; a reconstructed root connected with growth.”
Classical Latin
Latin
crēscere
“To grow, increase, or become larger.”
Late Latin
Latin
crēscēns
“Growing or increasing; the present participle of crēscere.”
Old French
Old French
creissant
“Growing, increasing, or crescent-shaped.”
16th Century
French
croissant
“Growing; also describing the crescent Moon or a crescent shape.”
19th Century
French
croissant
“A crescent-shaped pastry, especially in the modern French culinary sense.”
Modern English
English
croissants
“Plural of croissant: multiple crescent-shaped laminated pastries.”