polenta
[poh-len-tuh]
- (especially in Italian cooking) a thick mush of cornmeal.
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Origin of polenta
1555–65; < Italian < Latin: hulled and crushed grain, especially barley
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for polenta
Contemporary Examples
Against the creaminess of the polenta it was just soooo good.
Two Chickens, an Old Guitar, and a Group of Strangers: A Life-Changing Feast in BrazilAnnabel Langbein
November 29, 2013
Heading into the small makeshift kitchen inside his shack he retrieved a large jar of polenta.
Two Chickens, an Old Guitar, and a Group of Strangers: A Life-Changing Feast in BrazilAnnabel Langbein
November 29, 2013
Jumbo crabmeat and avocado, Colorado rack of lamb with tarragon jus, and Parmesan polenta cake was eaten by candlelight.
Seitan and Polenta Skillet with Fresh Greens by Nava Atlas: Just the color of this dish makes me happy.
Add the salt, pepper and polenta and whisk until thick about four minutes.
Historical Examples
The only mention of the Polenta family, apart from that of Francesca, is at Inf.
The Divine Comedy of Dante AlighieriDante Alighieri
Might it not just as well be rice, or polenta, or even beef and bacon?
Soliloquies in EnglandGeorge Santayana
An old woman and her son were cooking their polenta, but no herds were in sight.
Italian AlpsDouglas William Freshfield
Not so in London; nor were there grapes or polenta even if she desired nothing else.
The Village of YouthBessie Hatton
The other part is bad Italian—pampered Italian, fed for generations on oil and polenta.
Rest HarrowMaurice Hewlett
polenta
- a thick porridge made in Italy, usually from maize
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Word Origin
C16: via Italian from Latin: pearl barley, perhaps from Greek palē pollen
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 polenta
n.
Old English polente, from Latin pollenta, polenta, literally "peeled barley," related to pollen "fine flour," from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (1) "flour; dust" (see pollen). Later reborrowed from Italian polenta, from the Latin word.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper