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shortcake

[shawrt-keyk]
noun
  1. a cake made with a relatively large amount of butter or other shortening.
  2. a dessert made of short, sometimes sweetened, biscuit dough baked or split in layers, with a filling or topping of strawberries or other fruit.
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Origin of shortcake

First recorded in 1585–95; short + cake
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shortcake

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • But Polly sobbed on, nor could she be induced to eat the piece of shortcake she had wanted.

  • You shall have your shortcake if there is a berry within five miles.

    The Wall Between

    Sara Ware Bassett

  • "I'd like to see the cucumber," said Benny, pausing in the middle of his shortcake.

    The Box-Car Children

    Gertrude Chandler Warner

  • "We'll bring it to Violet," agreed Mr. Cordyce, resuming his shortcake.

    The Box-Car Children

    Gertrude Chandler Warner

  • Make the shortcake, dear girl, not so much for me, as for Norris here.

British Dictionary definitions for shortcake

shortcake

noun
  1. a kind of shortbread made from a rich biscuit dough
  2. a dessert made of layers of shortcake filled with fruit and cream
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Word Origin

C16: from short (in the sense: crumbly)
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 shortcake

n.

also short-cake, 1590s, from short (see shortening) + cake (n.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper