Torte
/tɔːrt/noun
A rich, usually layered cake made with little or no flour and often filled or frosted.
Did you know?Torte comes through German from Italian and ultimately from a Latin root meaning “to twist,” so the word began as a description of shape, not sweetness.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*terkʷ-
“to twist, turn”
Latin
Latin
torquēre
“to twist, turn, wring”
Late Latin
Latin
torta
“a round cake or loaf; literally “twisted””
Italian
Italian
torta
“cake, tart, pie”
German
German
Torte
“layer cake, tart”
Modern English
English
torte
“a rich cake, often layered and frosted”