[cake] n [ME, fr. ON kaka; akin to OHG kuocho cake] (13c) 1 a: a breadlike food made from a dough or batter that is usu. fried or baked in small flat shapes and is often unleavened b: a sweet baked food made from a dough or thick batter usu. con taining flour and sugar and often shortening, eggs, and a raising agent (as baking powder) c: a flattened usu. round mass of food that is baked or fried "a fish ~"
2. a: a block of compacted or congealed matter "a ~ of ice" b: a hard or brittle layer or deposit -- cak.ey adj
[2]cake vb caked ; cak.ing vt (1607) 1: encrust "caked with dust"
2: to fill (a space) with a packed mass ~ vi: to form or harden into a mass