Muffin
/ˈmʌfɪn/noun
A small, round quick bread or cake, often baked in a cup-shaped mold.
Did you know?Unlike words with dramatic occult origins, “muffin” has a humble food-history trail, but it’s a great example of how everyday words can carry centuries of cross-Channel borrowing.
Etymological Timeline
Early Modern English
English
muffin
“A small baked bread or cake”
Middle French
French
moufflet
“A soft bread”
Old French
French
moufle
“A soft or gentle bread; also a mitten”
Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*mūflō
“Mitten or soft covering”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*meub-
“To move softly or lightly”