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ravioli

[rav-ee-oh-lee, rah-vee-; Italian rah-vyaw-lee]
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noun (used with a singular or plural verb)
  1. small cases of pasta, often square, stuffed with a filling, usually of meat or cheese, and often served with a tomato sauce.
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Origin of ravioli

1835–45; < Italian, plural of dial. raviolo little turnip, diminutive of rava < Latin rāpa; see rape2

Usage note

See zucchini.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ravioli

Historical Examples

  • Have some rich stock boiling in a stewpan; poach the ravioli five minutes.

    Choice Cookery

    Catherine Owen

  • Mix well together and add to the paste as for other ravioli.

    Allied Cookery

    Grace Glergue Harrison and Gertrude Clergue

  • Ravioli and a sweet, and dont annoy us with any olives, said OLeary to the waiter.

    The Woman Gives

    Owen Johnson

  • The ravioli are then to be served hot seasoned with cheese and butter or with brown stock or tomato sauce.

  • Roll very fine and cover half the crust with ravioli dressing half-inch thick.

British Dictionary definitions for ravioli

ravioli

noun
  1. small squares of pasta containing a savoury mixture of meat, cheese, etc
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Word Origin

C19: from Italian dialect, literally: little turnips, from Italian rava turnip, from Latin rāpa
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 ravioli

n.

1610s, from Middle English raffyolys, also rafyols (late 14c.). The word probably was re-borrowed several times, most recently in 1841, from Italian ravioli, a dialectal plural of raviolo, a diminutive of an unidentified noun, perhaps of rava "turnip."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper