cracknel

C3R1A1C3K5N1E1L1
/ˈkɹæk.nəl/

noun

A hard, crisp or crunchy cake or biscuit.

OriginMiddle English crakenelle ← Middle French craquelin →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nouncracknel (plural cracknels)

plural cracknels

  1. A hard, crisp or crunchy cake or biscuit.

    I will take charge of the cake department, including, if I remember rightly, plum and plain, rout cakes, and macaroons, finger biscuits, and cracknels.

    1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVI, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 208
  2. in pluralCrackling (fried pork fat).

Origin

  1. Middle Frenchcraquelin
  2. Middle Englishcrakenelle
  3. Englishcracknel

From Middle English crakenelle, craknel, krakenelle, apparently an alteration of Middle French craquelin. Doublet of craquelin.

More words from Middle English, Middle French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cracknel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cracknel

MLA

“cracknel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cracknel. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cracknel,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cracknel.

Source: cracknel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.