queque

Portuguese

queques

Etymology

Borrowed from English cake, from Middle English cake, from Old Norse kaka, from Proto-Germanic *kakǭ (“cake”), from Proto-Indo-European *gog- (“ball-shaped object”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.ki/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.ki/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.ke/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.kɨ/

• Hyphenation: que‧que

Noun

queque m (plural queques)

1. muffin (individual cake)

   Synonym: (Brazil) bolo inglês

2. cupcake

Noun

queque m or f by sense (plural queques)

1. (Portugal, colloquial) a posh and snobby person

   Synonyms: tio m, tia f

Adjective

queque m or f (plural queques)

1. (Portugal, colloquial) poshy and snobbish

Further reading

• “queque”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “queque”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “queque”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Alternative forms

• keke

Etymology

Borrowed from English cake, from Old Norse kaka. Doublet of cake.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkeke/ [ˈke.ke]
• Rhymes: -eke
• Syllabification: que‧que

Noun

queque m (plural queques)

1. (colloquial) cake

   Synonyms: pastel, tarta, torta

2. (colloquial) cupcake

   Synonym: pastelillo

3. (colloquial) biscuit

   Synonym: bizcocho

4. (Chile, Canary Islands) sponge cake

   Synonym: (Spain) bizcocho

5. (Mexico, vulgar) ass, arse, butt

Derived terms

• creerse el hoyo del queque
• quequito

Related terms

• panqueque
• queca

Further reading

• “queque”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “queque”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010