madeleine

noun

mad·​e·​leine ˈma-də-lən  ˌma-də-ˈlān 

1

: a small rich shell-shaped cake

2

: one that evokes a memory

Did you know?

The Madeleine Goes Back to France

The madeleine is said to have been named after a 19th-century French cook named Madeleine Paumier, but it was the French author Marcel Proust who immortalized the pastry in his 1913 book Swann's Way, the first volume of his seven-part novel Remembrance of Things Past. In that work, a taste of tea-soaked cake evokes a surge of memory and nostalgia. As more and more readers chewed on the profound mnemonic power attributed to a mere morsel of cake, the word madeleine itself became a designation for anything that evokes a memory.

Examples of madeleine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Prue doesn’t love his madeleines, and Paul says that the fillings in his buns overwhelm his dipping sauce, which sounds a little less than perfect. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025

This included items like Rosenthal’s equivalent of a Proustian madeleine: the open-faced turkey sandwich. —Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 22 Sep. 2025

With a frill-less monastic setting, this institution has several London locations, but Smithfield is the OG, serving signature dishes like roasted bone marrow and oven-hot madeleines available by the dozen and half dozen. —Nicole Trilivas, Travel + Leisure, 20 Sep. 2025

Éclairs with glossy chocolate tops, macarons in muted pastels that feel like edible architecture, madeleines flecked with salt or spice. —Daniel Scheffler, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, perhaps from Madeleine Paumier, 19th century French pastry cook

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for madeleine

• businessmen
• councilmen
• henequen
• julienne
• middlemen
• minutemen
• motormen
• patrolmen
• repairmen
• saracen
• signalmen
• again

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