tiramisu (English)
Where does "tiramisu" come from?
The English noun 'tiramisu' is borrowed from Italian 'tiramisù', a dessert name meaning literally 'pick-me-up'[1]. The Italian term is formed through the univerbation of the phrase 'tira mi su', which combines the second person singular imperative 'tira' of the verb meaning 'to pull up', the unstressed first person singular pronoun 'mi', and the adverb 'su'[2][6][7]. This rich lineage stretches back through Latin and Proto-Indo-European roots regarding the pronoun and underlying elements[3][4][5].
Full etymology tree
- tiramisu (English), 'An Italian semifreddo dessert, originally from Veneto, made from ladyfinger biscuits, cocoa, mascarpone cheese, Marsala wine, eggs (or sometimes cream), sugar and espresso coffee.'
- borrowed tiramisù (Italian), 'tiramisu (dessert)'
- compound tira (Italian), 'inflection of tirare:'
- compound mi (Italian), 'clitic accusative of io. me'
- inherited me (Latin), 'me, myself; accusative singular of ego'
- derived *mē (Proto-Italic)
- derived *h₁mé (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *med (Proto-Italic)
- derived *h₁méd (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived mihi (Latin), 'dative of egō̆, indirect object form'
- derived *meɣei (Proto-Italic)
- derived *h₁mégʰ(e)y (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *meɣei (Proto-Italic)
- derived *mē (Proto-Italic)
- inherited me (Latin), 'me, myself; accusative singular of ego'
- compound su (Italian), 'up, upstairs'
- inherited susum (Latin), 'alternative form of sūrsum'
- borrowed tiramisù (Italian), 'tiramisu (dessert)'
Ancestors
- *wert- (Proto-Indo-European)
- tiramisù (Italian)
Sources
- tiramisu (English) - Wiktionary
- tiramisù (Italian) - Wiktionary
- mi (Italian) - Wiktionary
- me (Latin) - Wiktionary
- mihi (Latin) - Wiktionary
- su (Italian) - Wiktionary
- tirare su (Italian) - Wiktionary
Updated September 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris