madeleine
noun
mad·e·leine ˈma-də-lən 
ˌma-də-ˈlān
ˌma-də-ˈlān 1
: a small rich shell-shaped cake
2
: one that evokes a memory
Did you know?
The Madeleine Goes Back to France
The madeleine is said to have been named after a 19th-century French cook named Madeleine Paumier, but it was the French author Marcel Proust who immortalized the pastry in his 1913 book Swann's Way, the first volume of his seven-part novel Remembrance of Things Past. In that work, a taste of tea-soaked cake evokes a surge of memory and nostalgia. As more and more readers chewed on the profound mnemonic power attributed to a mere morsel of cake, the word madeleine itself became a designation for anything that evokes a memory.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Pipe no more than 1 ounce of batter into each madeleine form. 
Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Sep. 2022 There are many things to admire about the production, from its madeleine-esque needle drops to its relish in the baggy tackiness of so much ’90s fashion. Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2022 The story ends with a mug of Bovril, which is Frank’s madeleine, so to speak, calling up vivid scenes from the past. Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2022 Roast chicken may be my therapy, but chicken soup is my panacea, my madeleine dipped in tea. New York Times, 30 Dec. 2021 The madeleine side overpowered the brownie with its over-the-top sweetness and was much drier than the brownie side. cleveland, 8 Dec. 2021 To Americans of a certain age, Heller dinnerware is as potent a madeleine to the 1970s as a Marimekko print. New York Times, 23 Aug. 2021 And Perret revisited his signature madeleine recipe served at the hotel’s Salon Proust to create a travel-friendly sponge cake that stays fresh for up to five days. Vivian Song, Robb Report, 1 June 2021 Inside, a giant chandelier of Bohemian crystal recalls the curved shape of a madeleine. Cécilia Pelloux, Forbes, 24 May 2021 See More
Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Sep. 2022 There are many things to admire about the production, from its madeleine-esque needle drops to its relish in the baggy tackiness of so much ’90s fashion. Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2022 The story ends with a mug of Bovril, which is Frank’s madeleine, so to speak, calling up vivid scenes from the past. Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2022 Roast chicken may be my therapy, but chicken soup is my panacea, my madeleine dipped in tea. New York Times, 30 Dec. 2021 The madeleine side overpowered the brownie with its over-the-top sweetness and was much drier than the brownie side. cleveland, 8 Dec. 2021 To Americans of a certain age, Heller dinnerware is as potent a madeleine to the 1970s as a Marimekko print. New York Times, 23 Aug. 2021 And Perret revisited his signature madeleine recipe served at the hotel’s Salon Proust to create a travel-friendly sponge cake that stays fresh for up to five days. Vivian Song, Robb Report, 1 June 2021 Inside, a giant chandelier of Bohemian crystal recalls the curved shape of a madeleine. Cécilia Pelloux, Forbes, 24 May 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
French, perhaps from Madeleine Paumier, 19th century French pastry cook
First Known Use
1829, in the meaning defined at sense 1