Meringue
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A mixture consisting of beaten egg whites and sugar which is added to the tops of pies then browned. countable, uncountable
"The key to a good baked Alaska is the meringue topping."
- 2 sweet topping especially for pies made of beaten egg whites and sugar wordnet
- 3 A shell made of this mixture which serves as the receptacle for fruit, ice cream or sherbet. countable, uncountable
"Shirley likes to have strawberry with her meringue."
- 1 To prepare as a meringue dish. transitive
Example
More examples"French words like "vin" give Americans trouble; but "meringue," a valuable clue, falls trippingly from the tongue."
Etymology
Borrowed from French meringue. Historically, it was believed that meringue was invented in and named for the Swiss village of Meiringen, but the term is now thought to derive instead from Middle Dutch meringue (“light evening meal”), of unclear origin: * perhaps from Latin merenda (“light evening meal”), or * perhaps from Middle Dutch *meren (“to dip or soak bread”), from Old Dutch *meren, itself of unclear origin: ** perhaps from Proto-Germanic *marjaną (“to grind, pound”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to rub, pack”). ** perhaps from Proto-Germanic *marhin (“soup of bread and wine or water”), from Proto-Indo-European *mark-, *merk- (“wet”). Compare Middle Low German meringe (from mern (“to dip bread in wine”)), Middle High German merunge (from mëren (“to soak bread in wine or water for dinner”)), Old English merian (“to purify, cleanse, test”). Doublet of merengue.
Related phrases
More for "meringue"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.