Search: waffle
Why: Dexter tells the kids it was named after Simon P. Waffle (like Joseph Garnish).
Answer: Wafer and waffle share common etymological roots:
- Wafre ("wafer") occured in Middle English by 1377, adopted from Middle Low German wâfel, with the l changed to r.
- Modern Dutch wafel, French gaufre, and German Waffel - all meaning "waffle" - share the same origin
- The Dutch form wafel was adopted into modern American English as waffle in the 18th century.
The More You Know: There has been a box of blueberry waffles in my freezer since February 2008. Zack was eating them one night when he got very sick. They had nothing to do with it, but he hasn't eaten waffles since.
(I have; yum.)
It is the name of a Dutch pastry, and is also the name of the pastry cook who makes it. My mother's maiden name was Waffle, and she always claimed to be a direct descendent of the "Waffels" who settled in New Amsterdam (now NYC) in the 17th century, who worked their way up through Cherry Point, NY, then into Detroit, then into Illinois. She was actually born in Terre Haute, Indiana, but spent most of her life in Illinois. To my knowledge, there are not a lot of Waffles in America, but most can be found in the Midwest.
ReplyDelete