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Let's start with the linguistic part. The Polish word for a doughnut (usually, in the shape of a flattened sphere, with some kind of filling in it) is "''pączek''", pronounced ''{{small|PAWN}}-check''. The plural form, used for more than one doughnut, is "''pączki''", which is pronounced ''{{small|PAWNCH}}-kee''. The latter word has nothing to do with packages. That's "''paczki''" (without the hook-shaped squiggle), pronounced ''{{small|PAHTCH}}-kee''. It's the plural form of "''paczka''" (''{{small|PAHTCH}}-kah''), or "a package". As you can see, the explanation you can occasionally come across in America that ''pączki'' are [https://twitter.com/BethelBakery/status/949661885393199105 "''little packages of goodness''"] is as sweet as it is wrong. So where does the Polish word for doughnuts actually come from?
"''Pączek''" is a diminutive form of the word "''pąk''" (pron. ''pawnk''), which is a botanical term referring to a flower bud or leaf bud. What do doughnuts have to do with flower buds, you may ask. Not so much, if you're thinking about the American ring-shaped donuts, but it's different with the ball-shaped Polish ones. Originally, the word "''pąk''" referred to anything that is round, bulging (''pękate''), swollen (''napęczniałe'') and about to burst (''pęknąć''). Ultimately, all these "''pąk- / pęk- / pącz- / pęcz-''" words are most likely of onomatopoeic origin, meaning that they're supposed to resemble the sounds of something swollen that is bursting.<ref> {{Cyt
| nazwisko = Bralczyk
| imię = Jerzy
