Late Middle English. Apparently from Middle French, French petit pâté ‘little pie’, although the expression is apparently not lexicalized in Middle French.
Definition of petit pâté in US English:
petit pâté
(also petit paté, petit pate)
nounˌpɛtɪ ˈpateɪ
A small pie or pasty.
Origin
Late Middle English. Apparently from Middle French, French petit pâté ‘little pie’, although the expression is apparently not lexicalized in Middle French.