- a small fancy sponge cake
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
mad•e•leine
(mad′l in, mad′l ān′; Fr. madə len′),USA pronunciation n., pl. mad•e•leines (mad′l inz, mad′l ānz′; Fr. madə len′).USA pronunciation [French Cookery.]
Mad•e•leine (mad′l in, -līn′; Fr. madə len′),USA pronunciation n.
madeleine, +n.[in allusion to a nostalgic passage in Proust's Remembrance of Things Past]
- Fooda small shell-shaped cake made of flour, eggs, sugar, and butter and baked in a mold.
- something that triggers memories or nostalgia.
- 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
- 1835–45
Mad•e•leine (mad′l in, -līn′; Fr. madə len′),USA pronunciation n.
- a female given name, form of Magdalen.
madeleine, +n.
- something that triggers memories or nostalgia.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
madeleine /ˈmædəlɪn; -ˌleɪn/ n
'madeleine' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):