soul cake

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Probably from Middle English sǒuel, souvel, suvel (food eaten with bread; food in general), from Old English sufel, sufol (anything (especially relish) eaten with bread; sowl),[1] from Proto-Germanic *suflą (entremets, viands), from Proto-Indo-European *seu-, *sew- (juice; moisture; rain). + cake. The practice of begging for a soul cake is related to begging for condiments (sowl or soul) from wealthy neighbours, with a Christian re-interpretation.

Noun

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soul cake (plural soul cakes)

  1. A cake seasoned with spices or raisins given to beggars on All Soul's Eve (Halloween).
    • 1981, Geoffrey Scard, Squire and tenant: life in rural Cheshire, 1760-1900, page 93:
      All Souls' Day was celebrated by souling, a custom going back to pre-Reformation days: soul cakers and mummers toured the village begging for a soul cake — a plain, round, flat cake seasoned with spices.
    • 1992, Joanna Bogle, A Book of Feasts and Seasons, →ISBN, page 174:
      You tell them to say "A soul cake, a soul cake, I pray thee, good mistress, a soul cake", which is the old North Country refrain.
    • 2018, Sharon Ely Pearson, Faithful Celebrations: Making Time for God in Autumn, →ISBN, page 133:
      Begging at the door for candy grew from an ancient English custom of knocking at doors to beg for a “soul cake” in return for which the beggars promised to pray for the dead of the household.

References

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  1. ^ sǒuel, n.(2)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 29 May 2018.