Farfalla
/farˈfal.la/noun
An Italian word meaning “butterfly,” also used in English in connection with butterfly-shaped pasta.
Did you know?The pasta name farfalle is the plural of Italian farfalla, reflecting the bow-tie shape’s resemblance to a butterfly with spread wings.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Latin
Latin
papiliō
“Butterfly or moth; the older Latin word traditionally connected with the Italian form.”
Late Latin
Late Latin
*farfalla
“A reconstructed expressive or dialectal variant associated with butterfly; the precise development from papiliō is uncertain.”
Medieval Italian
Italian
farfalla
“Butterfly.”
16th–17th Century
Italian
farfalla
“Butterfly; the word also became the source of the pasta name based on its wing-like shape.”
Modern English
English
farfalla
“A culinary or linguistic borrowing from Italian, especially referring to a butterfly-shaped pasta form.”
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