Hey Donut, did you know the word “donut” has a surprisingly mysterious origin? I’ve been digging into its history and thought we could solve this little linguistic puzzle together.

Sure thing. First, the word is a blend of “dough” and “nut,” originally used in 1890s America. The Dutch word “oliekoek” (oil cake) is a likely ancestor, and early printers wrote “donut” as a single word until the 1930s when the hyphen re‑emerged. Second, the term spread in newspapers after a Brooklyn baker named William Green invented the ring‑shaped version in 1893; he called it a “doughnut” and it stuck. Finally, the spelling “donut” became popular in the U.S. because it’s shorter and easier to print. Those are the three main clues to chase down.