Cookie

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkʊki/

Definitions

1. A small, typically sweet baked item made from a dough that can include ingredients like chocolate, nuts, or oats and is often enjoyed as a snack or dessert
2. A flat, sweet snack made from a combination of flour, sugar, and other ingredients, commonly found in various cultures and enjoyed by many
3. A baked treat, usually sweet and composed of ingredients like flour, sugar, and various add-ins, serving as both a snack and a popular dessert item

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "cookie" is that the sweet treat and the verb "cook" are unrelated. The English word is a Dutch borrowing: it comes from Dutch "koekie," a diminutive of "koek," meaning "cake." That Dutch noun descends from a Proto-Germanic root shared with German "Kuchen," also meaning cake, so the sense of "a small cake" was present from the start. The word's modern history is stranger still. Some sources trace the English form to a Dutch diminutive, while the computing senses, such as the small file a website stores in your browser, come from the phrase "magic cookie," a term from early computing where a token of data is passed between programs.

Synonyms: biscuit, treat, sweet