palmier

Etymology

Borrowed from French palmier, ellipsis of feuille de palmier (“palm tree leaf”), the original name of this pastry.

Why this word is great

PALMIER — [Noun] A type of puff pastry biscuit made in the shape of a palm leaf and rolled in sugar. From French palmier ("palm tree"), ellipsis of feuille de palmier ("palm tree leaf"), from Latin palma ("palm tree"). Unlike "croissant" (a crescent of buttery layers) or "palm leaf" (the organic frond itself), the palmier is a crisp, caramelized artifice of geometry and indulgence. It is the golden symmetry of sugar-crusted layers fanning outward like a fossilized leaf, the audible snap of brittle pastry giving way to airy lightness, the faint burnt-caramel scent lingering on fingertips—proof that even decadence can be precise.

noun

  1. A type of puff pastry biscuit made in the shape of a palm leaf and rolled in sugar.“Glass cases are filled with a pastel field of pink sweet buns, glossy guava-oozing pastries and their vanilla custard cousins, crispy, heart-shaped orejas (elephant ears, or, at French bakeries, palmiers), and conchas (shells).”