Talk:Pontefract cake

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Why "cake"?

At the moment, the "Name" section just stops without addressing this. I doubt many people would consider a disc of liquorice to constitute a cake. There must be some reason that they're so called, for example:

corruption of an older word
left over from a time when "cake" had a broader meaning
just a case of picking a random word for something edible that could be used to name this new-at-a-time confection

It may be that the answer is unknown, but then there must be something out there about supposed origins of the term, like there is for such things as 99 Flake and OK. Can we add something to the section to cover this? In any case the section shouldn't just stop without addressing the question. — Smjg (talk) 18:32, 24 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I go for (b) as the word "cake" did have rather broad meanings, generally covering anything reasonably solid that wasn't bread. Unfortunately I'm not from Yorkshire so can't be sure. John C Kay (talk) 01:12, 8 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The original meaning of "cake" is a thin round flat baked piece of dough. (I guess modern biscuits and crackers would qualify.) However, by the mid 15th century (and ever since) it was also used to mean any flat, rounded mass of a substance. Also in the 15th century, the most common modern meaning (sweet, fluffy, shape doesn't matter) also began to be used. Source: etymonline.com

Conclusion: this meaning isn't really "left over" from an earlier time since all the meanings have been around for a very long time, but basically your answer B is close enough. TooManyFingers (talk) 00:39, 5 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]