Tartelette

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small, individual pastry case with a shallow crust, typically filled with fruit, custard or cream
2. A miniature tart, baked in a small shallow tin and usually served as a single sweet dessert
3. A little open pastry shell, often topped with fresh fruit or sweet filling and eaten in one portion

Etymology: "Tartelette" is a French-spelled variant of "tartlet," and the English form descends from Old French "tartelette," the diminutive of "tarte," the pie or tart. The French word was built with the suffix "-ette," which marks something small, so a tartelette is literally a little tart. The English path runs through Middle English "tartelet," which kept the same logic: "tart," borrowed from Old French into English and used for a baked pastry case holding fruit or other fillings, plus the diminutive ending "-let," which English uses in the same way, as in "booklet" or "streamlet." Both endings say the same thing, so the word repeats its own meaning in two languages. The spelling "tartelette" keeps the French ending visibly intact, which is why it looks foreign on an English menu. The original French form is the more faithful one, and the English "tartlet" is the version that absorbed the word into the language.

Synonyms: tartlet, tart