[2] The name of the dish has followed a track of borrowing across several languages of Central and Southeastern Europe; the dish originates from the Roman era of Central Europe and the Austrian-German term Palatschinke, the Czech palačinka, the Slovak palacinka, and the Croatian-Serb palačinka are deemed to have been borrowed from Hungarian palacsinta, that in turn from Romanian plăcintă (a cake, a pie), the Romanian word can be traced back to the Latin placenta, meaning "pie, cake".

In Polish, the equivalent is called a naleśnik, in Ukrainian налисник (nalysnyk) or млинець (mlynec), in Russian налистник (nalistnik) or блинчик (blinchik), in Romanian clătită.

The main difference between the French and Central European version of the dish is that the mixture for palatschinken can be used straight away unlike that of crepes which is suggested to be left at rest for several hours.

[8] It can also be made with crêpes that are filled with cottage cheese, jam and/or poppyseeds, rolled up and layered in a casserole dish and covered with custard and baked.

They may also be eaten plain, filled with cheeses, or vegetables such as mushroom, spinach or sauerkraut, topped with sour cream, or cut into thin strips, called Flädle in Germany’s and Switzerland's Alemannic dialects and Frittaten in Austria.