Meanings
plural simnel cakes
- countableuncountableA rich fruit cake, with a decorated marzipan covering, traditionally eaten on Simnel Sunday or Easter.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA rich fruit cake, with a decorated marzipan covering, traditionally eaten on Simnel Sunday or Easter.
Origin
- Latinsimila“fine flour”
- Old Frenchsimenel“fine wheat flour; flat bread cake, Lenten cake”
- Middle Englishsimenel
- Englishsimnel cake
From Middle English simenel (also simle), from Old French simenel (“fine wheat flour; flat bread cake, Lenten cake”), probably by dissimilation from Vulgar Latin *siminellus, a diminutive of Latin simila (“fine flour”) (see semolina). Compare also Middle Dutch semel, Middle Low German semele.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
simnel cake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/simnel%20cake
“simnel cake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/simnel%20cake. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “simnel cake,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/simnel%20cake.
Source: simnel cake on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.