beignet

[ben-yey; French be-nye]

noun, plural bei·gnets

[ben-yeyz; French be-nye] /bɛnˈyeɪz; French bɛˈnyɛ/.

a fritter or doughnut.
French Cookery. any fruit, vegetable, seafood, etc., dipped in batter and deep-fried.

Origin of beignet

1830–35, Americanism; < Louisiana French (def 1), French (def 2), Middle French bignet pastry filled with fruit or meat, equivalent to buyne literally, bruise, lump from a blow (of uncertain origin; cf. bunion) + -et -et

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for beignet

Historical Examples of beignet

Nor in gougre or beignet or bouche will Parmesan betray confidence.
The Feasts of Autolycus
Elizabeth Robins Pennell

British Dictionary definitions for beignet

beignet

noun

mainly US and Canadian a square deep-fried pastry served hot and sprinkled with icing sugar

Word Origin for beignet

C19: French bignet filled pastry, from buyne, literally: bump or lump

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for beignet

"fritter," 1835, from French beignet "fritter, eggroll, doughnut" (14c.), from Old French buigne "bump, lump," from a Germanic source (cf. Middle High German bunge "clod, lump"), or from Gaulish *bunia (cf. Gaelic bonnach).