See also: mooncake and moon cake

English edit

Noun edit

moon-cake (plural moon-cakes)

  1. Alternative form of mooncake
    • 1688, Gabriel Magaillans [i.e., Gabriel de Magalhães], “Of Several Other Palaces, and Some Temples Erected within the Same Enclosures”, in [anonymous], transl., A New History of China, Containing a Description of the Most Considerable Particulars of that Vast Empire. [], London: [] Thomas Newborough, [], →OCLC, page 318:
      The fifteenth Day of the eighth Moon, is ſolemniz'd by the Chineſes with great feaſting and rejoycing. [] To this purpoſe, the preceding Days they ſend to one another Preſents of little Loaves and Sugar-Cakes, which they call Yue Pim, or Moon-Cakes. They are round, but the biggeſt, which are about two hands breadth in diameter, and repreſent the Full Moon, have every one a Hare in the middle made of a Paſt of Walnuts, Almonds, Pine-Apple-Kernels and other Indgredients. Theſe they eat by the Light of the moon; the Richer ſort having their Muſick alſo playing about 'em, which is very good.
    • 1819, R[obert] Morrison, “ [guī]”, in A Dictionary of the Chinese Language, [], part II, volume I, Macao: [] East India Company’s Press, by P[eter] P[erring] Thoms, →OCLC, entry number 6772, page 507, column 3:
      Mei-kwei 玫丨 [i.e., 玫瑰] name of a pearl; also of a round cake, called the moon-cake, eaten at the harvest moon; []
    • 1890 February, Yan Phou Lee, “The Boys and Girls of China”, in Mary Mapes Dodge, editor, St. Nicholas: An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks, volume XVII, part I, number 4, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC, page 362, column 2:
      [M]aybe his mother has promised him a mango or a moon-cake if he would be good; []
    • 2012, Tan Twan Eng, chapter 10, in The Garden of Evening Mists, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear: Myrmidon Books, →ISBN, page 143:
      Tea and moon-cakes were served after dinner. The cakes came in square, octagonal and round shapes, each one about two inches thick and covered in a soft, brown skin. Emily cut them into quarter slices and handed them round.