name for a counselor wise from experience, or, generally, the oldest and most experienced man of a class or company, 1580s, from Greek Nestōr, name of the aged and wise hero in the "Iliad," king of Pylos, who outlived three generations. Klein says the name is literally "one who blesses," and is related to nostimos "blessed;" Watkins connects it with the root of the first element in nostalgia.

fem. proper name, variation of Madeline. The kind of small, rich confection is attested from 1845, said in OED to be named for Madeleine Paulmier, 19c. French pastry cook; any use with a sense of "small thing that evokes powerful nostalgia" is due to Proust (1922).