Origin of the Macaron

     I thought I'd take the time to delve into the origin of the maracon. There is so much history behind

this not so simple confectionery. I'm still learning, and to be frank, I'm still a little confused. I've tried my best to simplify my findings into what I've written below. Please correct me if need be.

     The "Macaron" is a French word believed to have derived from an Italian word. In English, we say macaroon. It's one of many varieties of a confectionery where the primary ingredient is ground almond or almond paste. It is also meringue-based. There are many varieties including Scottish, North American, and French. Some varieties are very different from one another, containing coconut and nuts while others are more simple and more meringue-like.
     The French macaron-the one I'm interested in -is characterized by two almond meringue disks filled with flavoured buttercream, jam, or ganache filling. The French macaron is said to be the invention of Laduree. To be more specific, it was Louis-Ernest Laduree's second cousin who first came up with the idea of the "double-decker macaron". It is also known as "Gerbet", or "Paris Macaron". Louis-Enest Laduree opened his shop in the early 1800's. The brand is very well-known in France and throughout the world for their confectioneries and of course, their macarons! -More on Laduree later.
     The origin of the macaroon (not the French macaron) itself has been highly debated and could be French or even Italian, but I won't get into that.
     On a side note, I'm confused by the terms macaron and macaroon... The "macaron" is the French word for macaroon. Some dictionaries say do not confuse the two...  But aren't they the same word?  It's just that there are many varieities of the confectionery from all over Europe.  This is macaroon madness... I have to stop here in case I say something that is entirely untrue... If you are able to make sense of any of this , please, be my guest!
     For reference, I will be using both terms interchangeably.  Based on my research, I guess there's no difference.  I made a crummy drawing (see above) to explain the anatomy of a French macaroon or "macaron" and a macaroon of the North American variety, the coconut macaroon, which is entirely different in taste, look, and texture.