blini

Where does the word "blini" come from? It comes from Russian blin, and was adopted directly into English (1824).

Blini’s story begins in Russian: blin meant “a small pancake.” A small, thin pancake, traditionally made from buckwheat flour. It reached English by 1824 as blini. Eaten during Maslenitsa, the Russian pancake week before Lent. Today, blini means small Russian pancakes, traditionally made with buckwheat flour.

1. Stage 1 · Russian · medieval blin "a small pancake", a small, thin pancake, traditionally made from buckwheat flour.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1824 blini "small Russian pancakes", eaten during Maslenitsa, the Russian pancake week before Lent.