kouign-amann

English

WOTD – 21 July 2022

Etymology

Traditionally, kouign-amann are baked in a large cake and served in slices (top), but it has become popular to prepare them as individual pastries (bottom).

Borrowed from Breton kouign-amann, from kouign (“brioche; bun; cake”) (ultimately from Latin cuneus (“wedge”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”)) + amann (“butter”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃engʷ- (“to anoint; to smear”)).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌkwiːn æˈmæn/, /-ˈmɑn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌkwin æˈmæn/, /-ˈmɑn/
• Rhymes: -æn

Noun

kouign-amann (countable and uncountable, plural kouign-amann or kouign-amanns)

1. A traditional Breton cake made of layers of butter, dough, and sugar.

Translations

traditional Breton cake made of layers of butter, dough, and sugar

• Breton: kouign-amann (br) f
• French: kouign-amann (fr) m
• Hebrew: קווין-אמאן
• Japanese: クイニーアマン
• Russian: кунь-аман (kunʹ-aman), куинь-аман (kuinʹ-aman)
• Thai: กวีญามันน์
• Ukrainian: кунь-аман (kunʹ-aman), куїнь-аман (kujinʹ-aman)

Further reading

• kouign-amann on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Breton

Etymology

From kouign (“cake”) +‎ amann (“butter”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌkuɲ ˈamãnː/

Noun

kouign-amann f (plural kouignoù-amann)

1. kouign-amann

Descendants

• → English: kouign-amann
• → French: kouign-amann

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Breton, from kouign (“cake”) + amann (“butter”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kwi.ɲa.man/, /kwi.nja.man/, /ku.ɲa.man/, /ku.nja.man/
• Rhymes: -an

Noun

kouign-amann m (plural kouign-amanns)

1. kouign-amann

   Hypernym: gâteau