noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/ˈpæs.tə/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: dish
Narrower terms: spaghetti, cannelloni, lasagna, lasagne, macaroni and cheese
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Ancient Greek πάσσω (pássō) Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τός (-tós) Ancient Greek παστός (pastós) Ancient Greek παστά (pastá)bor. Late Latin pasta Italian pastabor. English pasta Borrowed from Italian pasta (“paste; pasta, noodles”), from Late Latin pasta (“dough, pastry cake, paste”), from Ancient Greek παστά (pastá, “barley porridge”), neuter plural of παστός (pastós, “sprinkled with salt”), from Ancient Greek πάσσω (pássō, “to sprinkle”). Doublet of paste.
Etymology tree Latin cōpiō Old French copierbor. Middle English copien English copy Ancient Greek πάσσω (pássō) Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τός (-tós) Ancient Greek παστός (pastós) Ancient Greek παστά (pastá)bor. Late Latin pasta Old French pastebor. Middle English paste English paste English copy-paste ▲ Late Latin pasta Italian pastabor. English pasta blend English copypastaclip. English pasta Clipping of copypasta.
Etymology tree Ancient Greek πάσσω (pássō) Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τός (-tós) Ancient Greek παστός (pastós) Ancient Greek παστά (pastá)bor. Late Latin pasta Philippine Spanish pastabor. English pasta Borrowed from Philippine Spanish pasta, from Late Latin pasta (“dough, pastry cake, paste”), from Ancient Greek παστά (pastá, “barley porridge”).
Across languages
Translations
115 source translations are retained for this English entry.