diff --git a/zstd/src/huff0/huff0_encoder.rs b/zstd/src/huff0/huff0_encoder.rs
index 1070ccd4..69610de2 100644
--- a/zstd/src/huff0/huff0_encoder.rs
+++ b/zstd/src/huff0/huff0_encoder.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,20 @@
 use alloc::vec::Vec;
 use core::cmp::Ordering;
 
+/// Cache primitive for `HuffmanTable::cached_encoded_weight_description`,
+/// std-only. `std::sync::OnceLock` is `Sync` (atomic-init), so wrapping
+/// it inside `pub struct HuffmanTable` keeps the type's auto-traits
+/// intact for downstream consumers that share encoder tables across
+/// threads. **The cache is entirely absent in no_std builds**: the
+/// `cached_encoded_weight_description` field is `#[cfg(feature = "std")]`,
+/// so `HuffmanTable` retains `Sync` unconditionally regardless of which
+/// feature set the consumer builds with. no_std embedded targets that
+/// might run `HuffmanTable` across threads (e.g. via `Arc`) lose the
+/// per-table FSE-encode cache as a trade-off — they get the
+/// recompute-every-time path that existed before the cache landed.
+#[cfg(feature = "std")]
+type CachedDescription = std::sync::OnceLock<Option<Vec<u8>>>;
+
 use crate::{
     bit_io::BitWriter,
     fse::fse_encoder::{self, FSEEncoder},
@@ -109,13 +123,53 @@ impl<V: AsMut<Vec<u8>>> HuffmanEncoder<'_, '_, V> {
     }
 
     fn write_table(&mut self) {
-        let weights = self.weights();
-        let weights = &weights[..weights.len() - 1]; // don't encode last weight
-        if let Some(fse_description) = Self::encode_weight_description(weights) {
-            self.writer.write_bits(fse_description.len() as u8, 8);
-            self.writer.append_bytes(&fse_description);
-        } else {
-            Self::write_raw_weight_description(self.writer, weights);
+        #[cfg(feature = "std")]
+        {
+            // Cached path: cache hit → emit FSE bytes directly OR the
+            // cached `None` sentinel → emit raw (one `weights()` recompute,
+            // unavoidable since the cache stores only the FSE encoding,
+            // not the raw nibbles).
+            if let Some(cached) = self.table.cached_encoded_weight_description.get() {
+                if let Some(fse_description) = cached.as_deref() {
+                    self.writer.write_bits(fse_description.len() as u8, 8);
+                    self.writer.append_bytes(fse_description);
+                    return;
+                }
+                let weights = self.weights();
+                let weights = &weights[..weights.len() - 1];
+                Self::write_raw_weight_description(self.writer, weights);
+                return;
+            }
+            // Cold path: compute `weights` once and share it between the
+            // cache initializer (which uses it to FSE-encode) and the raw
+            // fallback (which uses it directly to write nibbles). Without
+            // this, the raw fallback would call back into `weights()` and
+            // recompute the slice — a measurable hotspot for small /
+            // low-cardinality tables (#170 review thread).
+            let weights = self.weights();
+            let weights = &weights[..weights.len() - 1];
+            if let Some(fse_description) = self
+                .table
+                .cached_encoded_weight_description_with_weights(weights)
+            {
+                self.writer.write_bits(fse_description.len() as u8, 8);
+                self.writer.append_bytes(fse_description);
+            } else {
+                Self::write_raw_weight_description(self.writer, weights);
+            }
+        }
+        #[cfg(not(feature = "std"))]
+        {
+            // no_std: no cache field, no shared state — single `weights()`
+            // compute, branch on FSE-vs-raw based on direct encoder call.
+            let weights = self.weights();
+            let weights = &weights[..weights.len() - 1];
+            if let Some(fse_description) = Self::encode_weight_description(weights) {
+                self.writer.write_bits(fse_description.len() as u8, 8);
+                self.writer.append_bytes(&fse_description);
+            } else {
+                Self::write_raw_weight_description(self.writer, weights);
+            }
         }
     }
 
@@ -210,6 +264,15 @@ impl<V: AsMut<Vec<u8>>> HuffmanEncoder<'_, '_, V> {
 pub struct HuffmanTable {
     /// Index is the symbol, values are the bitstring in the lower bits of the u32 and the amount of bits in the u8
     codes: Vec<(u32, u8)>,
+    /// Lazy cache of the FSE-encoded weight description. Avoids re-running
+    /// `encode_weight_description` across `try_table_description_size` and
+    /// `write_table` for the same table instance. **std-only** —
+    /// `core::cell::OnceCell` is `!Sync` and would break the `Sync`
+    /// auto-trait for `pub HuffmanTable` in no_std builds; no_std users
+    /// keep the original recompute-every-time semantics. See the
+    /// `CachedDescription` type-alias doc above for full rationale.
+    #[cfg(feature = "std")]
+    cached_encoded_weight_description: CachedDescription,
 }
 
 impl HuffmanTable {
@@ -312,17 +375,37 @@ impl HuffmanTable {
     }
 
     /// Returns exact writable table-description size when representable.
+    /// std build path: consults the lazy cache to avoid re-encoding the
+    /// weight stream when both planner and emitter call this for the
+    /// same table. no_std build path: recomputes via the direct encoder
+    /// every call (cache field absent — preserves `Sync`).
     pub(crate) fn try_table_description_size(&self) -> Option<usize> {
-        let weights = self.weights();
-        let weights = &weights[..weights.len() - 1];
-        if let Some(fse_description) = HuffmanEncoder::<Vec<u8>>::encode_weight_description(weights)
+        #[cfg(feature = "std")]
         {
-            return Some(fse_description.len() + 1);
+            if let Some(fse_description) = self.cached_encoded_weight_description() {
+                return Some(fse_description.len() + 1);
+            }
+            let raw_weights_len = self.codes.len().saturating_sub(1);
+            if raw_weights_len <= 128 {
+                Some(raw_weights_len.div_ceil(2) + 1)
+            } else {
+                None
+            }
         }
-        if weights.len() <= 128 {
-            Some(weights.len().div_ceil(2) + 1)
-        } else {
-            None
+        #[cfg(not(feature = "std"))]
+        {
+            let weights = self.weights();
+            let weights = &weights[..weights.len() - 1];
+            if let Some(fse_description) =
+                HuffmanEncoder::<Vec<u8>>::encode_weight_description(weights)
+            {
+                return Some(fse_description.len() + 1);
+            }
+            if weights.len() <= 128 {
+                Some(weights.len().div_ceil(2) + 1)
+            } else {
+                None
+            }
         }
     }
 
@@ -340,6 +423,23 @@ impl HuffmanTable {
             .collect::<Vec<u8>>()
     }
 
+    #[cfg(feature = "std")]
+    fn cached_encoded_weight_description(&self) -> Option<&[u8]> {
+        if let Some(cached) = self.cached_encoded_weight_description.get() {
+            return cached.as_deref();
+        }
+        let weights = self.weights();
+        let weights = &weights[..weights.len() - 1];
+        self.cached_encoded_weight_description_with_weights(weights)
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(feature = "std")]
+    fn cached_encoded_weight_description_with_weights(&self, weights: &[u8]) -> Option<&[u8]> {
+        self.cached_encoded_weight_description
+            .get_or_init(|| HuffmanEncoder::<Vec<u8>>::encode_weight_description(weights))
+            .as_deref()
+    }
+
     /// Estimates encoded payload size in bytes directly from per-symbol counts.
     pub(crate) fn estimate_compressed_size_from_counts(&self, counts: &[usize]) -> usize {
         let bits = self
@@ -364,6 +464,8 @@ impl HuffmanTable {
         let table_log = highest_bit_set(weight_sum) - 1;
         let mut table = HuffmanTable {
             codes: alloc::vec![(0, 0); weights.len()],
+            #[cfg(feature = "std")]
+            cached_encoded_weight_description: CachedDescription::new(),
         };
         let mut nb_per_rank = [0u16; 13];
         for &weight in weights {
@@ -1236,6 +1338,72 @@ fn large_alphabet_weight_description_uses_fse_when_raw_is_unrepresentable() {
     ));
 }
 
+#[cfg(feature = "std")]
+#[test]
+fn cached_encoded_weight_description_is_reused_for_write_table() {
+    let mut data = Vec::new();
+    for symbol in 0u8..=255 {
+        data.extend(core::iter::repeat_n(symbol, usize::from(symbol) + 1));
+    }
+    let table = HuffmanTable::build_from_data(&data);
+    let desc_size = table
+        .writeable_table_description_size()
+        .expect("table description must be writable");
+    let cached = table
+        .cached_encoded_weight_description
+        .get()
+        .and_then(Option::as_ref)
+        .expect("large alphabet fixture must cache FSE description")
+        .clone();
+    assert_eq!(desc_size, cached.len() + 1);
+
+    let mut encoded = Vec::new();
+    {
+        let mut writer = BitWriter::from(&mut encoded);
+        let mut encoder = HuffmanEncoder::new(&table, &mut writer);
+        encoder.write_table();
+        writer.flush();
+    }
+    assert_eq!(encoded[0] as usize, cached.len());
+    assert_eq!(&encoded[1..], cached.as_slice());
+}
+
+#[cfg(feature = "std")]
+#[test]
+fn write_table_raw_path_initializes_none_cache() {
+    let table = HuffmanTable::build_from_weights(&[1, 1]);
+    assert!(table.cached_encoded_weight_description.get().is_none());
+
+    let mut expected = Vec::new();
+    let weights = {
+        let mut out = Vec::new();
+        let mut writer = BitWriter::from(&mut out);
+        let encoder = HuffmanEncoder::new(&table, &mut writer);
+        encoder.weights()
+    };
+    {
+        let mut writer = BitWriter::from(&mut expected);
+        HuffmanEncoder::<Vec<u8>>::write_raw_weight_description(
+            &mut writer,
+            &weights[..weights.len() - 1],
+        );
+        writer.flush();
+    }
+
+    let mut encoded = Vec::new();
+    {
+        let mut writer = BitWriter::from(&mut encoded);
+        let mut encoder = HuffmanEncoder::new(&table, &mut writer);
+        encoder.write_table();
+        writer.flush();
+    }
+    assert_eq!(encoded, expected);
+    assert!(matches!(
+        table.cached_encoded_weight_description.get(),
+        Some(None)
+    ));
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn encoded_weight_description_is_accepted_by_donor_huf_reader() {
     use zstd::zstd_safe::zstd_sys;