Gingerbread

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

• gingebred (Scottish)

Origin

From Old French gingembras, gingimbrat, preserved ginger, from medieval Latin *gingimbrātus, "gingered" (presumably referring to ginger that perhaps had a pharmaceutical use for some medicinal preparation), with intrusive m from medieval Latin gingiber, ginger. The third syllable was early confounded with bread, and the insertion of an r in the second syllable completed the semblance of a compound word.

Noun

1. A type of cake whose main flavouring is ginger and that is typically cut into human-shaped pieces called gingerbread men or built into house-shaped cakes called gingerbread houses.
2. (architecture) A flamboyant Victorian-era architectural style.

Derived terms