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flan

(flăn, flän)

1. A custard that is baked in a caramel-lined mold and served chilled with the caramel side up. Also called crème caramel.

2. A tart with a filling of custard, fruit, or cheese.

3. A metal disk to be stamped as a coin; a blank.

[French, from Old French flaon, from Late Latin fladō, fladōn-, flat cake, of Germanic origin; see plat- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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