Pies

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /paɪz/

Definitions

1. A baked dish typically consisting of a pastry crust filled with sweet or savory ingredients, often served as a dessert or main course
2. A dish characterized by a covering of dough that holds various fillings, which can include fruits, meats, or vegetables
3. A round or oval baked confection that may feature a crust encasing a mixture of ingredients, such as fruits or meats, often enjoyed warm or cold

Etymology: The plural of "pie" is simply the regular "-s" form, so the interesting history belongs to the singular. Its earliest English form was "pey" or "pye," meaning a baked dish of filling enclosed in pastry, and it is possibly attested as early as about 1199 in the surname Piehus, which may mean "pie-house." Scholars have proposed a surprising link: the dish may be named after a bird. In Middle English, "pie" or "pye" also meant "magpie," and other foods show the same pattern, such as haggis beside the old word "haggess" for magpie, and "chewet," a meat pie, alongside "chewet" for a jackdaw. The surname Pie, common at the time, is ultimately derived from the bird, and it has been suggested that the dish was named after a maker with that surname. Both explanations remain uncertain. The bird name traces back through Old French and Latin to "pica," the feminine form of "picus," the Latin word for woodpecker. The magpie's black-and-white plumage may explain why a plain pastry dish, filled and crowded with contents, came to share its name.

Synonyms: tarts, pastries