Word
macaroni
Phoneticsmac·a·roni
US/ˌmækɝˈoʊni/
UK/mˌækɐɹˈəʊni/
Definition
n. a type of pasta that looks like small, curved tubes. It is very popular in dishes like macaroni and cheese.
n. a variety of dry pasta shaped like short, narrow, curved tubes. Derived from the Italian 'maccheroni'.
Examples
“I am cooking macaroni for dinner tonight.”
“The school cafeteria serves macaroni with a creamy cheese sauce every Friday.”
“While artisanal pasta shapes vary by region, the humble macaroni remains a global staple due to its ability to hold thick sauces within its hollow center.”
Examples
simple
“I am cooking macaroni for dinner tonight.”
contextual
“The school cafeteria serves macaroni with a creamy cheese sauce every Friday.”
complex
“While artisanal pasta shapes vary by region, the humble macaroni remains a global staple due to its ability to hold thick sauces within its hollow center.”
Usage
Usually uncountable when referring to the food as a mass, but can be countable when referring to individual pieces of pasta.
Etymology
From Italian maccaroni (plural of maccarone (archaic variant of maccheroni (“fool”))), of uncertain origin. Variously derived from late Byzantine Greek μακαρία (makaría, “food made from barley”), from Ancient Greek μάκαρ (mákar, “blessed; favored by the gods”), or from maccare (archaic variant of ammaccare (“to bruise; to crush”)), from Latin maccāre of the same meaning. Compare Sicilian maccarruni (“a single piece of macaroni”). * As a fop, apparently from the British Macaroni Club rather than from Italian use of maccarone for fools and bumpkins. * As a former form of currency, used to calque Spanish macuquino (18th-century colonial slang for a similarly clipped coin).
From French macaron. Doublet of macaron.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Idioms
holy macaroni — An expression of surprise.