Definition of biscuit
biscuits
alsobiscuit
1a : any of various hard or crisp dry baked products: such as (1) British : cracker 4 (2) British : cookieb : a small quick bread made from dough that has been rolled out and cut or dropped from a spoon
2 : earthenware or porcelain after the first firing and before glazing
3a : a light grayish-yellowish brownb : a grayish yellow
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Long ago it was often a problem to keep food from spoiling, especially on long journeys. One way to preserve flat loaves of bread was to bake them a second time in order to dry them out. In early French, this bread was called pain bescuit or “bread twice-cooked.” Later the term was shortened to bescuit. The idea of being “twice–cooked” was lost as the term was used for any crisp flat bread or for bread made with baking soda or baking powder instead of yeast. The word was borrowed into Middle English as bisquite, but was later spelled biscuit on the model of the French spelling.
Origin and Etymology of biscuit
Middle English bisquite, from Anglo-French besquit, from (pain) besquit twice-cooked bread
First Known Use: 14th century
BISCUIT Defined for English Language Learners
biscuit
playDefinition of biscuit for English Language Learners
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: a small, light roll that is eaten as part of a meal
BISCUIT Defined for Kids
Medical Dictionary
biscuit
playMedical Definition of biscuit
: porcelain after the first firing and before glazing
Learn More about biscuit
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See words that rhyme with biscuit Spanish Central: Translation of biscuit Nglish: Translation of biscuit for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of biscuit for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about biscuit
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