Etymograph

English

crepe

Crepe comes from Old French crespe, and goes back to Latin crispus ‘curly’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrispus1‘curly’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400crespe2
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentcrêpe1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2009crepe1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English crepe
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French crêpe
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Amanda Hesser, 1966: Maida Heatter’s Popovers: “While the mixture is very similar to crepe batter,…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrispusWiktionary, English crepe‘curly’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400crespeWiktionary, French crêpe
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentcrêpeWiktionary, English crepe
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2009crepeWiktionary, English crepe. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Amanda Hesser, 1966: Maida Heatter’s Popovers: “While the mixture is very similar to crepe batter,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-

short, card, across, cancer, share, cross, shirt, circle, score, circuit, screen, curve, crucial, circus, circulation, skirt, carnival, curb, scare, scar, cancellation, shrine, circa, scrutiny, corona, shear, scorpion, incarceration, carnage, raffle, circulate, carcinoma, corolla, scorn, crest, shred, shard, carnal, cirque, riddance, 118 more

through Latin crispus ‘curly’

crisp, 1 more

Today it means

noun A flat round pancake-like pastry from Lower Brittany, made with wheat.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “crepe”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French crêpe. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin crispus / crepe

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