king cake
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king cake
- /kɪŋ keɪk/ US, UK
Where it comes from
Probably a calque of French galette des rois (literally “galette of the kings”), meaning the three Magi who visited the baby Jesus at Epiphany.
noun king cakes · kingcake · king's cake · kings' cake
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A decorative cake distributed among friends or visitors on Epiphany. In many traditions it contains a pea, a trinket or some other small object which entitles its finder to be the "king" for one day.
A pretty superstition was also connected with the King's Cake. The lucky finder of the pecan, or bean, or ring, which was hidden within was henceforth to be favored by fortune. The queen cut the bean in two, and gave half of it to her king, and so, if a gentleman found it. The lucky bean was faithfu
Similar: baby cake, epiphany cake, three kings' cake, twelfth cake, Twelfth cake, twelfth-day cake
Translations
Every language
noun cake eaten on Epiphany
| Español | roscón de Reyes, rosca de Reyes |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ガレット・デ・ロワ garetto de rowa |
| 中文 | 帝王蛋糕 dìwáng dàngāo |
| Português | bolo-rei |
| Français | galette des rois, gâteau des rois, couronne des rois |
| Deutsch | Dreikönigskuchen |
| Italiano | galette des rois |
| Ελληνικά | βασιλόπιτα vasilópita |
| Русский | пиро́г волхво́в piróg volxvóv |
| Tiếng Việt | bánh vua |
| العربية | كَعْكَة عِيد الغَطَّاس |
Talk about this word "king cake." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/king%20cake. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. king cake. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/king%20cake "king cake." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/king%20cake.Cite this
@misc{king_cake_2026,
title = {king cake},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/king%20cake},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
