Etymograph

English

pesto

Pesto comes from Italian pesto ‘crushed, ground, beaten’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *peys-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peys-‘to crush’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pinéstireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pinsōreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpīnsō‘to pound, beat, crush’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpistus‘crushed, pounded’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentpesto‘crushed, ground, beaten’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1988same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peys-‘to crush’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pinéstireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pinsōreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpīnsō‘to pound, beat, crush’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpistus‘crushed, pounded’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentpesto‘crushed, ground, beaten’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1988same form

Earliest quotation: 1988, M. H. Reed, ‘Clean Eating’ for the Holidays: “For variation, easy cooking and good eating, slather some…”

The story

Appears 1850 in Cottage economy, attributed to William Cobbett (but not found in any editions published during his life).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peys- ‘to crush’

pile, pila, 5 more

through Latin pīnsō ‘to pound, beat, crush’

piston, piste, pestle, 1 more

Today it means

noun A sauce, especially for pasta, originating from the Genoa region in Italy, made from basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and cheese (usually pecorino).

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peys- / pesto

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