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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.
[Gr. happy.]
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.