Waffle

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈwɒf.l̩/

Definitions

1. A light, grid-patterned pastry made from batter cooked between two plates is also a term for indecisive or evasive speech and behavior when expressing thoughts or making choices
2. A breakfast treat made by cooking batter between patterned plates to create a light, crisp cake ; to speak in a vague or indecisive manner that avoids clear opinions ; the act of changing one's mind frequently or expressing uncertainty
3. A hot cake with a characteristic grid design cooked in a specialized iron ; to talk or write in a way that shies away from firm opinions or decisions

Etymology: The cake and the verb have different roots. The cake comes from Dutch "wafel," which passed into English as a doublet of "wafer" and "gauffre." Its ancestors probably trace back to a Proto-Germanic word tied to the idea of braiding or weaving, and the grid pattern of the pastry resembles a honeycomb, which may be why German "Wabe" (honeycomb) shares the same root. The verb is a different story. Its earliest sense was to waver, flap, or flutter, borrowed from Scots "waffle," a diminutive of "waff," meaning to wag or wave. That old sense of moving to and fro gradually shifted toward vacillating, then toward rambling on without a clear point. The sense of smashing something comes from the cooking process itself: batter is pressed between the two halves of a waffle iron.

Synonyms: pancake, biscuit, crumpet, griddlecake, fritter

Antonyms: solid, compact