mozzarella

Forms

mozzarella f (plural mozzarelle)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian mozza + -ello, with the southern interfix -ar- instead of Tuscan -er-.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} DELI calls it a Neapolitan word, recorded in Neapolitan from 1761, and GRADIT derives it from Neapolitan mozzarella.^[7][8][1]

The base noun, recorded before 1466 in GRADIT and before 1481 in DELI, was a cheese tied with a rush or straw.^[8][7] It is from Italian mozzare (“to cut off”), or the feminine of the adjective mozzo (“cut off”), which is from Vulgar Latin *mutius, for classical Latin mutilus (“maimed”).^[7][8][1][9] The reason for the name is explained differently.^[7][3] Prati thought of cheeses made from scraps of cheese, Tommaseo of a cheese tied in the middle as if cut, and Nocentini of the long strip of curd that is “cut off” by hand.^[7][3] Goidanich connected the word with scamorza.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a list of dairy foods in B. Scappi's Opera (Venice, 1570): capi di latte, butiro fresco, ricotte fiorite, mozzarelle fresche, et neve di latte (“cream, fresh butter, ricotta, fresh mozzarellas and whipped cream”).^[7][8][10]

Semantic evolution

In 1563 Mattioli wrote that buffalo milk was made into balls tied with rushes called mozze, which in Rome were called provature.^[7] In 1884 Serao and Scarfoglio mention a pizza con muzzarella e formaggio in Naples, and in 1899 Serao glosses latticini as mozzarelle.^[7][6] Mozzarella in carrozza, slices of bread and mozzarella fried together, is recorded in Panzini's dictionary in 1905.^[7] Once made only from buffalo milk in Campania, it is now also made industrially from cow's milk.^[11][12][6]

Figuratively a mozzarella is a weak, spineless person, and also someone very pale.^[8][2][6] The word passed into English in 1911 (as the plural Mozarelle), into French around 1960, and into German.^[10]

Timeline

• Before 1466 – Mozza names a kind of cheese.^[8]
• 1570 – Scappi lists mozzarelle fresche.^[7]
• 1761 – The word is recorded in Neapolitan.^[7]
• 1884 – Serao and Scarfoglio mention a pizza con muzzarella.^[7]
• 1905 – Mozzarella in carrozza in Panzini's dictionary.^[7]
• 1911 – English mozzarella is first recorded.^[10]
• c. 1960 – French mozzarella is first recorded.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. mozzarella: a fresh, soft white stretched-curd cheese from Campania, made from buffalo or cow's milk in round balls or braids: mozzarella in carrozza.^{[8][2][11][12]}
2. (figurative, colloquial) A weak, spineless person, and also someone with very pale skin.^{[8][2][12][6]}

Word family

• mozzarellina

Related words

• mozza
• mozzare
• mozzo
• scamorza

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c d Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
11. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)