macaroni English · revision 991

11 Oct 2026, 04:15 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˌmæk.əˈɹoʊ.ni/; /mæk.əˈɹəʊ.ni/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[bor|it|maccaroni]], a southern Italian dialect form (standard ''maccheroni''),^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) the plural of ''maccarone'' “dumpling, macaroni”,^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) possibly from ''maccare'' “to bruise, crush”, a word of unknown origin.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Etymonline also mentions Late Greek ''makaría'' “food made from barley” as a possible source.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A wheaten paste of Italian origin formed into tubes and dried (1599).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Middle English already knew a related dish as ''macrouns''.^(Etymonline) Until the 20th century macaroni was the only pasta commonly known to English speakers.^(Etymonline) Because it was an exotic dish in 18th-century England, the name was given, about 1760, to fashionable young men who had travelled on the Continent and affected French and Italian ways,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) after the Macaroni Club (1764);^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) hence a fop or dandy, a sense alluded to in “Yankee Doodle”.^(Etymonline) From the supposed resemblance of its crest to such a dandy's hair, a crested penguin is called the macaroni penguin (1838).^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * late 14th century – Middle English ''macrouns''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1599 – the pasta.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1764 – a fop, a dandy.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)
+ * 1838 – the macaroni penguin.^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # [[Pasta]] made from wheat flour and shaped into short or slender tubes, dried and prepared by boiling.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(history)'' A young Englishman of the late 18th century who affected Continental fashions and manners; a [[fop]] or [[dandy]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # The [[macaroni penguin]].^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[macaroni penguin]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[macaronic]]
+ * [[macaroon]]
+ * [[pasta]]
+ * [[noodle]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}