baklava

IPA/ˈbɑːkləvə/
IPA/ˌbɑːkləˈvɑː/

baklava — noun

1. a rich dessert made from crisp sheets of pastry filled with chopped nuts and soa

1.nounC1
Definition

a rich dessert made from crisp sheets of pastry filled with chopped nuts and soaked with honey or sweet syrup, especially in Turkish and Middle Eastern cooking

Example

Noor brought pistachio baklava from Istanbul for the office tea break.

collocation: pistachio baklava

After dinner, Rodrigo cut the baklava into diamonds and passed the tray around.

typical serving pattern: cut baklava into diamonds

Common collocations
  • pistachio baklava
  • walnut baklava
  • piece of baklava
  • tray of baklava
  • serve baklava
Synonyms
  • pastry

    much broader term for dough-based baked foods; it does not imply nuts and syrup

  • dessert

    names any sweet course after a meal, so it is far less specific than baklava

  • sweet

    everyday British word for sugary food; it is informal and much less exact

Grammar Patterns

serve baklava after dinner

a piece of baklava

tray of baklava

Usage Note

Usually treated as an uncountable food name when you mean the dessert in general. In careful use, speakers often say a piece of baklava rather than a baklava for one serving.

Common Mistakes

I ate a baklava after lunch.
I ate some baklava after lunch.' / 'I ate a piece of baklava after lunch.
The word usually names the dessert as a mass noun, not one single item.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

`Baklava` is a very specific dessert name. It usually means layers of thin pastry filled with chopped nuts and held together with honey or sugar syrup, especially in Turkish and Middle Eastern cooking. `Pastry` is much broader: it can mean the dough itself or almost any baked item made from it, so it does not suggest nuts, syrup, or this particular layered shape. `Dessert` is broader still, naming anything sweet served after a meal. In British English, `sweet` is an everyday word for sugary food, but it is informal and much less exact. Use `baklava` when the exact dish matters; use `pastry` or `dessert` only when you are speaking more generally.

baklava ↗pastry ↗dessert ↗sweet ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a piece of baklava
  • pistachio baklava
  • tray of baklava

Prepositions

  • of (baklava)

Etymology

TurkishEnglish

English borrowed `baklava` from Turkish, keeping the original name of the layered nut pastry instead of translating it. The word spread with the dessert itself as Turkish and wider Middle Eastern cooking became familiar to English-speaking diners, so modern English still treats baklava as a cultural loanword tied to that food tradition.

First known use

1902

1902, in the meaning defined above