A crescent roll is a crescent-shaped, flaky yeasted roll enriched with butter, related to the French croissant but generally simpler and less laminated.
Crescent-shaped Austrian pastries (kipferl) date back to at least the 13th century. A popular legend links the crescent shape to an Austrian victory over an Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683, but food historians consider that story an unverified tale that first appeared in print more than 250 years after the battle, and the kipferl shape predates the siege by centuries.
Modern crescent rolls are made by rolling dough into triangles and rolling from the wide end to the point. In the United States, they're widely sold as a packaged, ready-to-bake product used for dinner rolls, appetizers, and casserole toppings.