Language Hat, always on to a good story, has an entry referring to a BBC story [via Incoming Signals] on how the British invented lasagna. Without descending into the politics of food (e.g., did the Genoese bring back pasta from the court of Genghis Khan 40 years before the Venetian Marco Polo), here's what some of the reference books have to say about lasagna:
lasagna sf. [da un lat. volg. lasania, da làsanium, marmitta] larghi nastri di pasta sfoglia: un piatto di lasagne al forno || accr. || N. fettucina, nastrino, pappardella, tagliatella, macheroni, vermicelli.
[Fernando Palazzi. 1939 [1979]. Novissimo Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, p. 742]
4917. *lasania "eine Art Nudeln" (zu lasanum "Kochgeschirr")
It. lasagna (> südfrz. lazanho, sp. lasaña) "Krapfen". — Ablt.: tosk. lasagnolu, comel. laðané, ðalané "Nudelholz" Merlo, MIL 23, 287. Trotz südfrz. lausan nicht zu lausia 4946 oder zu einem ohnehin nicht annehmbaren *LAVA "Stein" Nigra, AGl. 14, 287.
[W. Meyer-Lübke. 1935. Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch]
The etymology for lozen (older form loseyn) the OED suggests that it is perhaps from the OFr loseigne, a variant of losange 'lozenge'. Lewis & Short define a lasanum as a utensil, perhaps for cooking, or a chamber utensil or closestool. Liddell & Scott define lasâna as (1) a trivet or stand for a pot, and (2) a nightstool. Lozenge seems to be connected to a Celtic loanword for some kind of stone.
Posted by jim at July 17, 2003 01:05 PM | TrackBack