Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Macaroni
Macˊa-ro′ni
,Noun.
pl.
Macaronis
(#)
, or Macaronies
. [Prov. It.
macaroni
, It. maccheroni
, fr. Gr. [GREEK] happiness, later, a funeral feast, fr. [GREEK] blessed, happy. Prob. so called because eaten at such feasts in honor of the dead; cf. Gr. [GREEK] blessed, i. e., dead. Cf. Macaroon
.] 1.
Long slender tubes made of a paste chiefly of a wheat flour such as semolina, and used as an article of food; a form of Italian
pasta
. ☞ A paste similarly prepared is largely used as food in Persia, India, and China, but is not commonly made tubular like the Italian macaroni.
Balfour (Cyc. of India).
2.
A medley; something droll or extravagant.
3.
A sort of droll or fool.
[Obs.]
Addison.
4.
A finical person; a fop; – applied especially to English fops of about 1775, who affected the mannerisms and clothing of continental Europe.
Goldsmith.
5.
pl.
(U. S. Hist.)
The designation of a body of Maryland soldiers in the Revolutionary War, distinguished by a rich uniform.
W. Irving.
Webster 1828 Edition
Macaroni
MACARO'NI
,Noun.
1.
A kind of biscuit made of flour, eggs, sugar and almonds, and dressed with butter and spices.2.
A sort of droll or fool, and hence, a fop; a fribble; a finical fellow.Definition 2024
macaroni
macaroni
English
Noun
macaroni (countable and uncountable, plural macaronis)
- (uncountable) A type of pasta in the form of short tubes; sometimes loosely, pasta in general. [from 17th c.]
- (pejorative, now historical) A fop, a dandy; especially a young man in the 18th century who had travelled in Europe and who dressed and often spoke in an ostentatiously affected Continental manner. [from 17th c.]
- 1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. XI:
- Delicate lace ruffles fell over the lean yellow hands that were so overladen with rings. He had been a macaroni of the eighteenth century, and the friend, in his youth, of Lord Ferrars.
- 1997, Thomas Pynchon, Mason & Dixon:
- A small, noisy party of Fops, Macaronis, or Lunarians,—it is difficult quite to distinguish which,—has been working its way up the street.
- 1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. XI:
Quotations
For usage examples of this term, see Citations:macaroni.
Hyponyms
- elbow macaroni
- See also Wikisaurus:pasta
Derived terms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
type of pasta
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See also
Anagrams
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ma.ka.ʁɔ.ni/
Etymology
From Italian maccaroni, obsolete variant of maccheroni (“macaroni”), plural of maccherone, of uncertain origin.
Noun
macaroni m (plural macaronis)