Pulla

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of sweet bread traditionally made in Finland, often enjoyed during festive occasions
2. A fluffy, rich pastry that can be shaped into various forms and filled with sweet or savory ingredients
3. A beloved baked good which can include flavors such as cardamom, cinnamon, or almond, typically served with coffee or tea

Etymology: The English "pulla" is a recent arrival, borrowed directly from Finnish, where "pulla" names a sweet, lightly spiced bread often braided or shaped into buns. The Finns took the word from Swedish "bulle", so the name travelled from Sweden to Finland before reaching English speakers. Swedish "bulle" is a doublet of the English "bowl" and "boule", which means all three words descend from a single ancestor and split apart as they passed through different languages. The shared sense is roughly "round thing", so a bun is a bowl's close cousin in both shape and name.

Synonyms: veal, calf meat