penne (English)
Where does "penne" come from?
The English word 'penne' is borrowed from Italian 'penne'[1], which is the plural form of 'penna'[1]. The Italian noun traces back to Latin 'penna' and 'pinna', deriving from Proto-Italic '*petnā'[2]. Further back in time, this originates from the Proto-Indo-European root '*péth₂r̥ ~ pth₂én-', which carried the meanings of 'feather' or 'wing'[2].
Open questions
- The derivation from the Proto-Italic and Proto-Indo-European reconstructed forms is a linguistic reconstruction. [2]
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 ~ pth₂én- (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *petnā (Proto-Italic), 'feather'
- inherited penna (Latin), 'wing (of natural or supernatural creatures)'
- derived penna (Italian), 'feather'
- borrowed penne (Italian), 'plural of penna'
Ancestors
- penne (Italian)
Sources
Updated September 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris