muffin en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈmʌf.ɪn/
- (US) audio
Etymology
From earlier moofin, probably a diminutive of Low German Muffe ("small cake"; Muffen (plural)), from Middle Low German muffe (“small pastry”). An alternative, and phonologically less plausible theory suggests a connection to Old French (pain) moflet (“roll”, literally “soft (bread)”). Sense “vulva” influenced by muff.
Meanings
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(UK) A type of flattish bun, usually cut in two horizontally, toasted and spread with butter, etc., before being eaten.
[…] but he had still at intervals a kind listener in Mrs. Phillips, and was by her watchfulness, most abundantly supplied with coffee and muffin.
1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter XVI, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 174:It was felt at once that the mouth did not come over from Sleswig with a band of Saxon pirates whose lips met like the two halves of a muffin.
1878 January–December, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], published 1878, →OCLC:Little did poor Doctor Walker imagine as he sat at his breakfast-table next morning that the two sweet girls who sat on either side of him were deep in a conspiracy, and that he, munching innocently at his muffins, was the victim against whom their wiles were planned.
1891, Arthur Conan Doyle, Beyond the City:“A cup of tea and a muffin, please,” he ordered.
1915, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC:We take a less gloomy view of our errors now our father confessor listens to us over his egg and coffee. We are more distinctly conscious that rude penances are out of the question for gentlemen in an enlightened age, and that mortal sin is not incompatible with an appetite for muffins.
1859, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XVI, in Adam Bede […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC:
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A cupcake-shaped baked good (for example of cornbread, banana bread, or a chocolate dough), sometimes glazed but typically without frosting, eaten especially for breakfast (in contrast to a cupcake, which is a dessert).
Aubrey got a bowl of soup, a cup of coffee, beef stew, and bran muffins, and took them to an empty seat by the window. He ate with one eye on the street.
1919, Christopher Morley, “(please specify the page)”, in The Haunted Bookshop, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC:Newland and his wife had had no idea of obeying this injunction; but Mrs. Carfry, with her usual acuteness, had run them down and sent them an invitation to dine; and it was over this invitation that May Archer was wrinkling her brows across the tea and muffins.
1920, Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:[…] to prepare sustenance like roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, vinaigrettes, guacamole, and bananabread muffins.
2007, New York, volume 40, page 129:Dust the frosted muffins with cocoa powder. […] Store extras in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. The muffins can be frozen if unfrosted, but do not freeze the frosting.
2017, Maria Emmerich, Keto Comfort Foods, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 58:Originally, I planned to write two sections here – one about how you get flat cupcakes and one about how to get tall, domed muffins. It quickly became clear that I was pretty much writing the same thing twice: factors that make cupcakes flat in opposite make muffins domed, unsurprisingly enough.
2021, Katarina Cermelj, Baked to Perfection: Delicious gluten-free recipes with a pinch of science, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:To start we'll go with an easy choice, a delicious chocolate muffin made with Mexican chocolate that goes well with ice cream or fruit […]
2014, Martha Stone, Muffin Tin Menus: 32 Recipes That Are Delicious and Easy to Make, page 1:
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(colloquial, endearing) Term of endearment.
I love you, muffin!
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(slang, vulgar) The vulva or vagina; pubic hair around it.
Is your muffin buttered?
2004, Tina Fey, Mean Girls (motion picture), spoken by Jason (Daniel DeSanto):I wanna be stuffin' Martha's muffin!
1986, “Stuffin' Martha's Muffin”, in Frenzy, performed by Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper:She peeled off her clothes and stretched out on a towel. At first she lay still, then slowly Maddie slid a hand down her smooth tummy and into her muffin.
2012 September 14, Barely Legal, →ISSN, page 42:
- (slang) A less talented player; one who muffs, or drops the ball.
- (qualifier:dated or LGBTQ slang) A charming, attractive young man.
- (dated) A small plate, smaller than a twiffler.
- (Northern-England, UK, dialectal, qualifier:especially Manchester) A roll, bap or cob, which may or may not be flat or toasted.
- (slang) A very weak shot in ice hockey where the puck does not travel fast.
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(Canada, archaic, slang) A young woman who would regularly accompany a particular man during a social season.
The fair Canadians may have been too kind in accepting the name and position of "muffins" from the young Britishry; but the latter cannot say they have suffered much in consequence. A muffin is simply a lady who sits beside the male occupant of the sleigh—Sola cum solo, "and all the rest is leather and prunella."
[1865, William Howard Russell, Canada: Its Defenses, Condition, and Resources, London: Bradbury and Evans, page 149:I had a charming muffin yesterday. She is engaged to be married, so don't be alarmed.
1854, Margaret Oliphant, quoting Laurence Oliphant, Memoir of the Life of Laurence Oliphant and of Alice Oliphant, His Wife, new edition, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1892, page 92:A long string of two-seated sleighs, a pleasant tête-à-tête drive for many miles snugly ensconced in the buffalo robes with your "muffin" by your side, a halt at some hospitable settler's, and an impromptu dance in his barn, with a return journey in the crisp moonlight air, left impressions that are still vivid. ¶ The "muffin" was a social institution of those days, which may or may not have survived. Every young swain by unwritten but acknowledged law was permitted to make his choice of a partner for the season, with whom he danced exclusively, and whom he drove in his sleigh and skated with hand in hand.
1904, Arthur Griffiths, Fifty Years of Public Service, London […]: Cassel and Company, Limited, pages 52–53:
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(qualifier:Java programming language) A mechanism used in the Java Network Launching Protocol analogous to the cookie mechanism and which permits a program running in a browser to perform operations on a client machine.
The name/value pairs provided by the PersistenceService are similar to browser cookies. The Java Web Start implementation honors this legacy by naming the pairs "muffins."
2001 May 30, “Technical Articles and Tips”, in Sun Developer Network, archived from the original on 09 Jul 2008, JNLP and Java Web Start:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| muffins | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Deriveds
buff the muffin · muffiny · muffinery · scuffin · stud muffin · muffin choker · muffineer · English muffin · muffinless · studmuffin · American muffin · muffin pan · McMuffin · meadow muffin · muffin stand · muffin cup · muffinlike · muffin-less · muffin-like · cruffin · muffin top · make muffins · bruffin · muffin-warm · blueberry muffin baby · whatever butters your muffin · muffin worry · finger muffin · duffin · minimuffin · muffin cap · muffin-face · buffin · muffin tin · sparklemuffin
Descendants
ма́ффин · Muffin · muffinssi · muffin · muffin · muffinsi · muffins · mafino · muffin · 玛芬 · マフィン · 머핀 · 瑪芬 · מאָפֿין · muffini · muffins · muffin · muffin
Synonyms
sweetie pie · crack · nonny · cunny · minnie · honey · chuck · little one · doodlebug · wee-wee · dearie · cabbage · cavern · m'dear · petal · pet · sugar baby · coin slot · vertical smile · old bean · mopsy · kebab · monosyllable · sweetheart · lambchop · pink bits · moocha · woobie · muffin · liefling · sheath · axe wound · darling · Virginia · English muffin · babber · squish mitten · bubba · kidder · twinkle · cooter · girl · honey bun · crevice · poppet · honeypot · bearded clam · whisker biscuit · muff · honeybug · snicklefritz · pump · vaginer · va-jay-jay · muss · moppet · gash · dear · snookums · buttercup · dove · lovebug · Victoria · hon · snapper · heartmate · informal or poetic) · fish lips · dialectal (chiefly Geordie · juice box · punani · luvvy · treasure · dag · pumpkin · bush · sweet pea · la-la · mouse · heartface · old sport · front bum · heartling · duck · snatch · front bottom · bonne bouche · trap · cooch · strange · vadge · sugar · chickadee · fam · sweetie · heart · penis fly trap · cookie · muff · quim · wizard's sleeve · sausage · sweetling · sugar beet · love · sugar walls · pug · box · twat · cupcake · loveling · sausage wallet · tuppence · pussy · lambkin · pally · innie · sweetcheeks · lass (archaic except UK · kitty · bun · clunge · bae · sugar-plum · pee-pee · sweets · jo · honeybunny · shug · vagina · vag · hoo-ha · cunt · Vicky · precious · bully · pussy · ginch · love tunnel · beaver · slit · poontang · miting · pink · fanny · cooze · baby · honeycakes · snuggums · dumpling · Grand Canyon · cupcake · Wearside) · hinny · berk · love box · foo-foo · babycakes · doll · sugarpie · coochie · honeypie · ducky · babe · lovie · chickabiddy · front hole · sug · jewel · minge · vulva · muffin · dear heart · pussums · squishy · cutie · dearling · stench trench · schnookums · honeybunch · dearest
Translations (48)
tr muffin (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · el μάφιν (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · eo mafino (flattish bun, English muffin) · es panecillo (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · nb muffins (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · ru кекс (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · ru ма́ффин (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · uk ма́фін (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · sk mafin (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · bg мъ́фин (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · yi מאָפֿין (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · pl muffin (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · fi vuokaleivos (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · kk маффин (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · he מַאפִין (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · cmn 英式鬆餅 /英式松饼 (flattish bun, English muffin) · pt muffin (flattish bun, English muffin) · fi kuppikakku (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · hy մաֆին (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · cmn 滿福堡 /满福堡 (flattish bun, English muffin) · cmn 英式瑪芬 /英式玛芬 (flattish bun, English muffin) · acw مَفِن (flattish bun, English muffin) · fi muffini (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · fr muffin (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · cmn 瑪芬 /玛芬 (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · pl proziak (flattish bun, English muffin) · fa-ira مافین (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · de Muffin (flattish bun, English muffin) · es muffin (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · be ма́фін (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · cs muffin (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · nb muffins (flattish bun, English muffin) · pl muffinka (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · eo mafino (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · af muffin (flattish bun, English muffin) · pl muffinek (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · az maffin (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · af muffin (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · de Muffin (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · nb cupcake (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · ka მაფინი (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · cmn 鬆餅 /松饼 (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · ko 머핀 (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · nl muffin (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · fr muffin (flattish bun, English muffin) · ja マフィン (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · ar مَافِن (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin) · bn মাফিন (cupcake-shaped baked good, American muffin)