tortillon

English

Etymology

From French tortillon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɔː(ɹ)tiˈjɒn/

Noun

tortillon (plural tortillons)

1. An artist’s tool used to smudge and blend a drawing made from charcoal, pencil, or pastel, consisting of a tightly-wound stick of soft, fibrous paper, sanded to a point at one end like a pencil.

French

Alternative forms

• tourtillon

Etymology 1

From tortiller +‎ -on.

Noun

tortillon m (plural tortillons)

1. (painting) tortillon
2. headpad (a turban of wound cloth used for carrying loads on the head)
3. (Louisiana) bun (hairstyle)
4. (Louisiana) eddy, whirlpool

   Synonyms: tourbillon, vire-vire

Etymology 2

From tourte +‎ -illon.

Noun

tortillon m (plural tortillons)

1. a cake in the form of a torus, first boiled and then baked; a specialty of southwest France

Further reading

• “tortillon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
• Dictionary of Louisiana French: As Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and American Indian Communities (2009; →ISBN; →ISBN)