Cannelloni

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of pasta formed into large tubes, typically stuffed with fillings such as meat or cheese and then baked
2. Large cylindrical pasta typically filled with various ingredients, often served in a baked dish covered in sauce
3. A pasta variety resembling tubes, often filled with ingredients like ricotta or ground meat, then cooked in sauces or baked dishes

Etymology: Cannelloni is the plural of "cannello", an augmentative-style form of "canna", the Latin word for "reed". The name refers to the shape of the pasta: a wide tube, hollow like a reed stem, which is why the Italian word for the tubular pasta carries the same root as a plant. The tubes are wrapped around a filling, most often meat or cheese, and then baked. English took the word directly from Italian, where "cannelloni" is the plural of "cannellone", a larger version of "cannello", a small tube. The pattern is typical of Italian: a basic noun gains a suffix to name something bigger, and the pasta is named for its hollow form rather than for any ingredient.