croissant

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

Croissant’s story begins in French: croissant meant “a crescent.” Literally crescent, describing the pastry's curved shape. It reached English by 1900s as croissant. Austrian bakers in Paris in the 1830s introduced the Viennese kipferl, which became the croissant. Today, croissant means a buttery, flaky, crescent-shaped French pastry.

1. Stage 1 · French · 1800s croissant "a crescent", literally crescent, describing the pastry's curved shape.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s croissant "a buttery, flaky crescent-shaped pastry", Austrian bakers in Paris in the 1830s introduced the Viennese kipferl, which became the croissant.