flan Meaning & Definition
What Does Flan Mean?
Flan is used as a noun meaning A baked tart with a sweet or savoury filling in an open-topped pastry case. It is also used to mean A dessert of congealed custard, often topped with caramel, especially popular in Spanish-speaking countries. As a verb, it means To splay or bevel internally, as a window-pane.
Word Facts for Flan
| Part of speech | noun, verb |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /flæn/ |
| Synonyms | crème caramel |
| Plural | flans |
| Verb forms | flans, flanning, flanned |
Flan Definition (Noun)
- A baked tart with a sweet or savoury filling in an open-topped pastry case.
- A dessert of congealed custard, often topped with caramel, especially popular in Spanish-speaking countries.
- A coin die.
Flan as a Verb
- To splay or bevel internally, as a window-pane.
Noun
- A fan of the U.S. TV series Firefly.
Noun
- Baked tart with sweet or savoury filling in an open-topped pastry case. (Compare quiche.)
- (Belize) A dessert of congealed custard, often topped with caramel, especially popular in Spanish-speaking countries.
- A coin die. (Compare planchet.)
Synonyms of Flan
Flan synonyms and antonyms →Word Forms & Grammar
flan (plural flans)
flan (third-person singular simple present flans, present participle flanning, simple past and past participle flanned)
Words That Rhyme With Flan
Origin of Flan
Origin 1: Borrowed around 1846 from French flan (“cheesecake, custard tart, flan”), or in some uses (in reference to Spanish/Latin American flans) later from Spanish flan (itself from the French), both from Old French flaon (whence also Middle English flaon, flaun (“pie; cake”)), from Late Latin fladō (“flat cake”), from Frankish *flaþō (“flat cake”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (“broad, flat”); compare German Fladen. Akin to Old High German flado (“flat cake, offering cake”). Doublet of flathe.
Origin 2: Although the -n is generally believed to derive from the Late Latin accusative form (fladonem) of fladō (“flat cake”), it might alternatively derive from an inflected form of the Frankish word (such as the Frankish accusative *flaþan, or the like). For a similar case, see garden.
Origin 3: English, from a slip of the tongue by actor Nathan Fillion.
Quick Answers About Flan
Is flan a noun or a verb?
Flan is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as a verb.
What is another word for flan?
Words with a similar meaning to flan include crème caramel. See the full list of flan synonyms and antonyms.
What is the plural of flan?
The plural of flan is flans.
What is the past tense of flan?
The past tense of flan is flanned. The present participle is flanning.