madeleine

¹ American  

[mad-l-in, mad-l-eyn, mad^uh-len] / ˈmæd l ɪn, ˌmæd lˈeɪn, madəˈlɛn /

noun

French Cooking.

plural

madeleines

1. a small shell-shaped cake made of flour, eggs, sugar, and butter and baked in a mold.

2. something that triggers memories or nostalgia: in allusion to a nostalgic passage in Proust's Remembrance of Things Past.

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Madeleine ² American  

[mad-l-in, -lahyn, mad^uh-len] / ˈmæd l ɪn, -ˌlaɪn, madəˈlɛn /

Also Madelaine,

noun

1. a female given name, form of Magdalene.

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madeleine British  

/ -ˌleɪn, ˈmædəlɪn /

noun

1. a small fancy sponge cake

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Etymology

Origin of madeleine

1835–45; < French, earlier gâteau à la Madeleine, after the female given name; the attribution of the recipe to an 18th-century cook named Madeleine Pau(l)mier is unsubstantiated

Example Sentences

For him, pinball games unlock memories, much as the madeleine did for Proust.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

At least to this South Asian American, they were as vivid and powerful as any madeleine.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2024

GERWIG: In “Remembrance of Things Past,” in “Swann’s Way,” he is literally thrown back into his childhood through the taste of the madeleine.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 20, 2023

To Proust, a madeleine is not just a little cake.

From Washington Post • Oct. 19, 2022

“Wanderlust!” he exclaimed passionately, and then grabbed a petite madeleine as his reward.

From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood