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  • Mornay
    Mornay
    noun
    Philippe de Seigneur du Plessis-Marly Pope of the Huguenots, 1549–1623, French statesman and Protestant leader.
  • mornay
    mornay
    adjective
    (often immediately postpositive) denoting a cheese sauce used in several dishes

Mornay

American  
[mawr-nay, mawr-nay] / mɔrˈneɪ, mɔrˈneɪ /

noun

  1. Also called Duplessis-Mornay. Philippe de Seigneur du Plessis-Marly Pope of the Huguenots, 1549–1623, French statesman and Protestant leader.

  2. Also called Mornay sauce. (often lowercase) a béchamel, or white sauce, containing cheese, especially Parmesan and Gruyère.


Mornay 1 British  
/ mɔrnɛ /

noun

  1. Also: Duplessis-Mornay. Philippe de (filip də), Seigneur du Plessis-Marly. 1549–1623, French Huguenot leader

"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

mornay 2 British  
/ ˈmɔːneɪ /

adjective

  1. (often immediately postpositive) denoting a cheese sauce used in several dishes

    eggs mornay

"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

Etymology

Origin of mornay

perhaps named after Philippe de Mornay , Seigneur du Plessis-Marly (1549–1623), French Huguenot leader


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

And in place of the sliced Swiss cheese he used to use, there’s a more labor-intensive Mornay sauce thick with Gruyère and premium dairy from California’s Straus Family Creamery.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

“It amounts to artists blacklisting fellow artists based on their nationality, ethnicity or identity—and we wouldn’t do it to artists in any other country,” said actress Rebecca De Mornay, who signed the letter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025

Once the pasta is cooked, it is combined with the raw vegetables and a lighter-than-average Mornay sauce, which is a cheesy béchamel.

From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2024

Graduate researcher Jacquelynn Mornay said the noise levels registered there could cause permanent hearing damage after an hour or so of exposure.

From Salon ● Mar. 18, 2024

From 1612 to 1621 he was tutor to two of the grandsons of Philippe de Mornay, seigneur du Plessis Marly.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9 "Dagupan" to "David" by Various

A mornay sauce goes into production while the soufflé is in the oven.

From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2022

While living in Kentucky, I learned to love a Hot Brown, a mess of an open-faced sandwich that's smothered in velvety mornay sauce and topped with a single ruby slice of tomato.

From Salon ● Nov. 29, 2021

The awe-inspiring animal-style burger boasts crusty double patties cemented with caramelized onion mornay sauce.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 27, 2018

Was Lefebvre thinking of evenings at Staples Center when he concocted his nachos, which substitute sauce mornay, a fromage-enhanced French béchamel, for the usual puddle of molten orange cheese?

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2015

The first does not use Gruyère in the sauce mornay.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 21, 2015

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