What is the origin of the word 'omelet?'

An omelet (also omelette) is an egg dish made from a beaten egg mixture mixed with a little four, salt and pepper, and fried in a pan on top of a stove. It can be folded over vegetables, or filled with cheeses and made with the whole egg or just the whites. The origins of the dish is said to have been in France around the 14th century. However, the term was first used in the 17th-century French cookbook titled Cuisine Bourgeoisie.

"The French omelette derives from an older word form, amelette, in which the L and M were flipped (in a process called metathesis) from alemette. Alemette, in turn, is from lemelle, meaning 'little blade.'" ~Mashed Radish

It seems that many countries have their own version of the omelet just as several cultures have their own version of the doughnut.

Legend has it that Napoleon and his army were traveling through a small town of Bessieres in the south of France. An innkeeper prepared an omelet for Napoleon. He was so enamored with the dish that he ordered that all of the eggs in the village be gathered to create an enormous omelet for his army. Whether or not the story is true, the town of Bessieres has an annual giant Easter omelet!

Note: Both spellings of the word are correct.