# simnel cake

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A rich fruit cake, with a decorated marzipan covering, traditionally eaten on Simnel Sunday or Easter.

## Etymology
From Middle English simenel (also simle), from Old French simenel (“fine wheat flour; flat bread cake, Lenten cake”), probably by dissimilation from Vulgar Latin *siminellus, a diminutive of Latin simila (“fine flour”) (see semolina). Compare also Middle Dutch semel, Middle Low German semele.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/simnel-cake