pizzeria

American  

[peet-suh-ree-uh] / ˌpit səˈri ə /

noun

1. a restaurant, bakery, or the like, where pizzas are made and sold.

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pizzeria British  

/ ˌpiːtsəˈriːə /

noun

1. a place where pizzas are made, sold, or eaten

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Etymology

Origin of pizzeria

1940–45; < Italian, equivalent to pizz ( a ) pizza + -eria -ery

Explanation

Craving a baked crust topped with sauce, vegetables, and melty mozzarella? You might want to visit a pizzeria, a shop where pizzas are made! A restaurant that makes and sells pizzas is a pizzeria. While the name may sound Italian, it's an American invention dating from the 1940s, influenced by the word cafeteria. Though they weren't referred to this way until the mid-20th century, the earliest pizzerias opened in the Little Italy neighborhood of New York in 1905. Since then, Americans have embraced pizzerias, consuming about three billion pizzas per year by some estimates.

Related Words

• bar
• cafeteria
• coffee shop
• diner
• dining room
• inn
• outlet
• saloon