More resembling a cake in texture or consistency; more densely packed or compressed.
From cake (Old Norse 'kaka') plus comparative suffix -er, originally referring to baked dough. The word evolved from describing actual baked goods to describing any substance with a dry, compressed, or clumpy texture similar to cake.
This word shows how we borrow descriptions from food to understand non-food substances—we say dirt is 'caky' when it's wet and compacted, or makeup is 'caky' when it's too thick, because our brains instantly understand the texture of cake!
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