1835–45; < French; Old French gastel (compare Middle English wastel < Old North French ) < Frankish *wastil, perhaps akin to Old English, Old Saxon wist food, nourishment
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For dessert, the VIPs were served a sweet beehive-shaped chocolate gâteau with a vanilla bean crémeux custard.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
Also, gâteau de crêpes, which is an insanely challenging dish.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2022
When to go: There’s no bad time to visit, though some swear that spring takes the gâteau.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 13, 2020
And once you’ve had Pichet’s gâteau au foie de volaille — velvety chicken liver terrine — it’s difficult not to order that to go with your complimentary hunk of baguette.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 18, 2017
The derivation of the word, according to Douce's "Illustrations of Shakespeare," is from gasteau, now gâteau, anciently written gastel, and, in the Picard dialect, ouastel or watel, a cake.
From Chapters in the History of the Insane in the British Isles by Tuke, Daniel Hack
Dorret Conway had a nightmare in her maiden week as her Black Forest gateau was more mudslide than moreish.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2016
Tiramisu I condemned as the black forest gateau of the 90s, yet at the same time toyed with it; now that the age has passed, I make it without apology.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 3, 2015
"Maybe these songs are such intense characters that they'd become too sickly if they were longer. You want a slice of nice gateau instead of scoffing the whole cake."
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2014
Or it could be seen as a profound glorying in every aspect of their existence; either way, the picture remains as delicious as any slice of chocolate gateau.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 21, 2010
“You missed the Sorting, anyway,” said Hermione, as Ron dived for a large chocolate gateau.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Behind the fancy pastries, the colorful gâteaux and the bonbons covered in glossy chocolate that breaks with a crisp snap are the standards, sweets that have been loved for generations, some for centuries.
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2022
Glass display cases show off rows of colorful, picture-perfect petits gâteaux, and croissants with so many layers that they’re almost reminiscent of the rings of a tree.
From New York Times ● Jan. 11, 2022
They are by nature much sturdier and simpler than the precious gâteaux, tartes, tortes, and petits fours of the great French and Austro-Hungarian baking traditions.
From Slate ● Jul. 9, 2018
“For breakfast, many people have bread, cheese and gâteaux piments,” my driver Raju explained, as he helped select four perfectly plump morsels for 10 rupees, about 30 cents.
From New York Times ● Aug. 16, 2017
But in a spirit of fairness, let me record that Charley's biscuits were marvels, and that Frank's gâteaux à la chansonnette were things of beauty and therefore joys forever.
From The River and I by Neihardt, John G.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
