arancini

Where does the word "arancini" come from? It comes from Italian arancia, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Arancini’s story begins in Italian: arancia meant “an orange.” An orange, describing the golden, round, fried rice balls' resemblance to the fruit. It reached English by 1900s as arancini. Sicilian for 'little oranges', from their round shape and golden fried colour. Today, arancini means fried, breaded balls of stuffed risotto rice, originating in Sicily.

1. Stage 1 · Italian · medieval arancia "an orange", an orange, describing the golden, round, fried rice balls' resemblance to the fruit.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s arancini "fried, stuffed Sicilian rice balls", Sicilian for 'little oranges', from their round shape and golden fried colour.