penne (English)
Where does "penne" come from?
The English word 'penne' is a direct borrowing from Italian, where it serves as the plural form of 'penna'. The term originally referred to a quill or feather, a name applied to this pasta shape because its diagonally cut ends resemble the tip of a traditional writing quill.
Full etymology tree
- penne (English), 'A type of short, diagonally cut pasta.'
- borrowed penne (Italian), 'plural of penna'
- derived penna (Italian), 'feather'
- inherited penna (Latin), 'wing (of natural or supernatural creatures)'
- inherited *petnā (Proto-Italic), 'feather'
- inherited *péth₂r̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'wing'
- inherited *petnā (Proto-Italic), 'feather'
- inherited penna (Latin), 'wing (of natural or supernatural creatures)'
- derived penna (Italian), 'feather'
- borrowed penne (Italian), 'plural of penna'
Direct ancestors
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris