Deadcake
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A small cake or cookie served at a funeral in Dutch-settled colonial New York, often with the initials of the deceased inscribed. historical
"The cakes were of an especial kind and were called "deadcakes." In the case of a funeral in the family of the rich, or of those high-up in the official life of the Colony, large sums were spent on the wine and it was not unusual for a supply of it to be put in the cellar long before the first death so that it would be on hand and improving by age."
Example
More examples"The cakes were of an especial kind and were called "deadcakes." In the case of a funeral in the family of the rich, or of those high-up in the official life of the Colony, large sums were spent on the wine and it was not unusual for a supply of it to be put in the cellar long before the first death so that it would be on hand and improving by age."
Etymology
Calque of Dutch doodkoek (literally “death cake”), equivalent to dood + koek (English dead + cake).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.