Etymograph

English

pizza

Pizza is borrowed from Neapolitan pizza, of uncertain origin.

  1. Neapolitanmodernpizza
  2. Englishtodaysame form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Neapolitanmodernpizza
  2. Englishtodaysame form

first attested First attested in 1931 (as stated in the etymology)

The story

First attested in 1931, borrowed from Neapolitan pizza (1590), the dialectal form of Byzantine Greek πίτα (píta, “cake, pie”). The Greek word is first attested in 1107 and is itself of uncertain origin.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. The northern Italian dialectal form was pinza, the southern (Apulian and Calabrian) form was pitta. This suggests a derivation from Latin pīnctus (pictus (‘painted, smeared’)) or pīnsum, pīnsitum, pistum (‘pounded’), but the northern forms appear to be contaminated with pinzare (‘to staple’).

Linked words

through Byzantine Greek πίτα ‘cake, pie’

pita, 1 more

Today it means

noun A baked Italian dish of a thinly rolled bread crust typically topped before baking with tomato sauce, cheese, and other ingredients such as meat or vegetables.

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

Etymograph / Neapolitan pizza / pizza

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