macaroni
or mac·ca·ro·ni
[ mak-uh-roh-nee ]
/ ˌmæk əˈroʊ ni /
noun, plural mac·a·ro·nis, mac·a·ro·nies for 2.
small, tubular pasta prepared from wheat flour.
an English dandy of the 18th century who affected Continental mannerisms, clothes, etc.
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macapagal, diosdado, macapá, macaque, macarena, macaron, macaroni, macaroni cheese, macaroni wheat, macaronic, macaroon, macarthur
Origin of macaroni
1590–1600; earlier maccaroni < dialectal Italian, plural of maccarone (Italian maccherone). See macaroon
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for macaroni
British Dictionary definitions for macaroni
macaroni
maccaroni
/ (ˌmækəˈrəʊnɪ) /
noun plural -nis or -nies
pasta tubes made from wheat flour
(in 18th-century Britain) a dandy who affected foreign manners and style
Word Origin for macaroni
C16: from Italian (Neapolitan dialect) maccarone, probably from Greek makaria food made from barley
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for macaroni
macaroni
"tube-shaped food made of dried wheaten paste" [Klein], 1590s, from southern Italian dialectal maccaroni (Italian maccheroni), plural of maccarone, name for a kind of pasty food, possibly from maccare "bruise, batter, crush," of unknown origin, or from late Greek makaria "food made from barley."
Used after c.1764 to mean "fop, dandy" (e.g. "Yankee Doodle") because it was an exotic dish at a time when certain young men who had traveled the continent were affecting French and Italian fashions and accents. There is said to have been a Macaroni Club in Britain, which was the immediate source of the term.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper