baklava

Where does the word "baklava" come from? It comes from Ottoman Turkish baklava, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Baklava’s story begins in Ottoman Turkish: baklava meant “a layered nut and syrup pastry.” A layered pastry sweetened with syrup and nuts, refined in the Ottoman palace kitchens. It reached English by 1900s as baklava. Developed in the kitchens of the Ottoman Topkapı Palace; an English account of the sultan's palace mentioned it as early as 1650, though it only became common in the 1900s. Today, baklava means a sweet pastry made of layered filo dough, nuts, and syrup.

1. Stage 1 · Ottoman Turkish · medieval baklava "a layered nut and syrup pastry", a layered pastry sweetened with syrup and nuts, refined in the Ottoman palace kitchens.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s baklava "a sweet, flaky, nut-filled pastry", developed in the kitchens of the Ottoman Topkapı Palace; an English account of the sultan's palace mentioned it as early as 1650, though it only became common in the 1900s.