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frittura

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word frittura

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1499 Ricettario fiorentino More words from the 15th century
Ultimate origin
Latin frīgō

Pronunciation

  • /fritˈtu.ra/[1]

Forms

frittura f (plural fritture)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian fritto + -ura, from the past participle of friggere.[2][3][4][5][6] GRADIT derives it from the verb directly, and Devoto calls it the abstract noun of the verb, made on the participle.[7][8]

Meyer-Lübke set up a Latin *frīctūra (“roasting, frying”) for the whole family: Romanian friptură, French friture, Old Occitan fritura, Spanish fritura and Portuguese fritura.[9][1] Wiktionary allows either a formation in Italian or this Latin source.[1] The verb goes back to Latin frīgō (“to roast, fry”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Ricettario fiorentino of 1499 has the first record, in the sense “the act of frying”: some things must be cooked by roasting or by frying.[2][10]

Semantic evolution

The concrete sense, a dish of fried food, follows in Francesco Berni (before 1535).[2] Tommaseo records frittura for small fish or other things for frying, as in Berni's lake full of trout, crabs, sardines e frittura, and for the brains and sweetbreads usually fried.[11] Frittura bianca named fried brains or sweetbreads.[6][12]

In modern use the word means above all a dish of fried fish, and fishmongers sell frittura by weight as small fish for frying.[7][6] Figuratively and disparagingly it can mean a confused mixture of things or people.[7] English recorded frittura in 1819, and German Frittura in 1876.[13]

Timeline

  • 1499 – The Ricettario fiorentino uses frittura for the act of frying.[2]
  • Before 1535 – Francesco Berni uses it for a dish of fried food.[2]
  • 1819 – Frittura is recorded in English.[13]
  • 1876 – German Frittura is recorded.[13]

Meanings

Noun

  1. frying, the act or method of cooking in boiling oil or fat.[7][5][6]
  2. A dish of fried food, especially fish: una frittura di gamberi.[7][5][14]
  3. Small fish for frying, such as anchovies, red mullet and squid.[7][6]
  4. (figurative, derogatory) A confused jumble of things or people.[7]

Word family

  • fritturina

Usage notes

Frittura bianca is a fry of brains or sweetbreads, and frittura dolce a fry of sweet morsels.[7][6] Tommaseo records the saying la frittura va in padella da sè, of fish that is still alive.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 191
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  11. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  13. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
Cite this entry

“Frittura.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/frittura. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·