cannoli
Americanplural noun
-
cannolis
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cannoli
1940–45; < Italian, plural of cannolo, derivative of canna reed, cane; cf. cannelloni
Explanation
A cannoli is an Italian dessert that consists of a crunchy fried pastry tube filled with sweet cream. When you eat at a Sicilian restaurant, you should definitely try the cannoli. In Italian, cannoli is the plural of cannolo, "small tube," from the Latin root canna, "tube or pipe." In the tradition of pastries like éclairs and cream horns, cannoli have a pastry dough structure surrounding a sweet, creamy filling — in this case, one that's made with ricotta cheese. Cannoli are commonly dipped in chocolate or studded with tiny chocolate chips or chopped nuts.
Vocabulary lists containing cannoli
5th Grade World Cuisine, List 1
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Lasagna Means I Love You
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
What Sacher torte is to Vienna, or kouign-amann to Brittany, or cannoli to Sicily, knafeh Nabulseyeh is to Nablus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2023
Eventually, traditions also became melded together to produce the current Americanized image of pan-Italian food that ranges from pizza to cannoli, which are both regional in Italy.
From National Geographic ● Jul. 26, 2023
I'd also treat myself to something sweet, like Mamaw Emily's strawberry cake or a simple cannoli.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2022
And this time, Thompson’s “Holy cannoli, this is crazy” reaction resounded everywhere.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2022
Mrs. Ortelli brought boxes of cream-filled cannoli and crunchy biscotti she shared with the nurses.
From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis
If you have room after, stop for gelato or cannolis next door to Geno’s.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 16, 2022
Dust the cannolis with powdered sugar or dip the ends into chopped chocolate and pistachios.
From Salon ● May 23, 2022
Serve pickles, pretzels, dumplings, or cannolis on this tray and recite facts from the Wikipedia page of each dish.
From Slate ● Nov. 20, 2018
Desserts are by Elia Aboumrad and include Italian-style marscapone cheesecake, cannolis, biscotti and a basket filled with black and white cookies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2015
“I went to grade school with a kid whose family owned Caesar’s Pastry Shop, which is Rocco’s now, and his father used to let us fill the cannolis with cream from the bag.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 27, 2014
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
