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quesadilla

[key-suh-dee-uh; Spanish ke-sah-th ee-yah]
noun, plural que·sa·dil·las [key-suh-dee-uh z; Spanish ke-sah-th ee-yahs] /ˌkeɪ səˈdi əz; Spanish ˌkɛ sɑˈði yɑs/. Mexican Cookery.
  1. a tortilla folded over a filling of shredded cheese, onions, and chilies and broiled or fried.
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Origin of quesadilla

1940–45; < Mexican Spanish; Spanish: pastry or cake made with cheese, equivalent to quesad(a) (ques(o) cheese (< Latin cāseus; cf. cheese1) + -ada -ade1) + -illa diminutive suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for quesadilla

quesadilla

noun
  1. a toasted tortilla filled with cheese and sometimes other ingredients
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Word Origin for quesadilla

C21: from Spanish, diminutive of queso cheese
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for quesadilla

n.

Mexican tortilla with filling of cheese, etc., 1944, from Spanish, diminutive of quesada, "type of cheesecake," from queso "cheese," from Latin caeseus (see cheese (n.1)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper