Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
ratafia biscuit

ratafia biscuit

9.9
A small crisp biscuit that tastes of bitter almond or sweet liqueur
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : galleta de ratafía
  • The recipe calls for ground almonds to make authentic ratafia biscuits.

Examples

  • I love a crunchy ratafia biscuit with my tea.

  • She bought a box of ratafia biscuits from the bakery to try with her tea.

  • I served the coffee with a plate of ratafia biscuits on the side.

  • Have you tried the ratafia biscuits from the bakery?

  • I served the coffee with a plate of ratafia biscuits on the side.

  • She bought a box of ratafia biscuits from the bakery to try with her tea.

  • The recipe calls for ground almonds to make authentic ratafia biscuits.

Synonyms

biscuit
vsratafia biscuit
  • UK
74 1.0

A small sweet flat cake that you eat as a snack

specifies almond liqueur or bitter almond essence rather than general sweet cakes
ratafia
vsratafia biscuit
  • Archaic
9.9

A small sweet biscuit like a macaroon flavored with almond

focuses on a specific bitter almond liqueur or essence as the defining flavor

Surface Forms

ratafia biscuit singular
ratafia biscuits plural

Morphology

ratafia + biscuit

The phrase is a straightforward noun–noun composition: 'ratafia' denotes a flavor/liqueur (or a type of almond-flavored biscuit) and 'biscuit' denotes a small crisp cake, so together they mean a biscuit flavored with ratafia. This compositional pattern is predictable and transparent to a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings, even if 'ratafia' itself is somewhat rare.

Etymology

Ratafia biscuit gets its name from a sweet 'liqueur' called ratafia, made with almonds. Bakers used that almond drink to flavor the small crisp biscuit, so the name now means a little almond-flavored cookie.