Donut Is a Deliberate Simplification of Doughnut
A donut is a ring of fried sweet dough. The short spelling is American and was popularised by a chain, not by a dictionary.
A donut is a ring of sweetened dough, fried and often glazed. *Doughnut* is the original spelling, recorded in America in 1809 in Washington Irving's writing; *donut* is a twentieth-century simplification that spread through shop signs and was cemented by Dunkin' Donuts from 1950. The short form is now standard American, while British English keeps *doughnut*. The *nut* in the name referred to a small ball of dough, before the ring shape existed.
- A ring of fried dough. *A jam donut.*
- Doughnut — the full spelling. *A ring doughnut.*
- Donut hole — the fried centre. *A box of donut holes.*
- Glaze — the sugar coating. *A glazed donut.*
- Do a donut — spin a car in a circle. *Doing donuts.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun (US) | donut | A donut. |
| Noun (UK) | doughnut | A doughnut. |
| Plural | donuts | Six donuts. |
| Compound | donut hole | Donut holes. |
| Related | dough | Bread dough. |
- He bought a box of donuts.American.
- A jam doughnut with sugar.British.
- The nut was originally a ball of dough.Etymology.
Where the ring came from
- Early doughnuts were solid balls, and the centres often stayed raw
- The hole solved that: more surface, even cooking
- Hanson Gregory, an American sea captain, is traditionally credited, around 1847
- Donut holes are sold as a separate product, though usually made from fresh dough
- Ring doughnut is the standard British term for the shape
From *dough* plus *nut*, a small lump. First recorded in American English in 1809; the short spelling appears in the early 1900s.
Is donut or doughnut correct?
Both. Donut is standard American, doughnut standard British and also common in America.
Why is there a hole?
So the centre cooks through. Early solid doughnuts were often raw in the middle.