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Where does the word "bologna" come from? It comes from Italian Bologna, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).
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Where does the word "bologna" come from? It comes from Italian Bologna, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).
Bologna’s story begins in Italian: Bologna meant “an Italian city name.” A city in northern Italy famous for its seasoned sausage. It reached English by 1600s as bologna. 'baloney', nonsense, grew from this word in 1920s American slang. Today, bologna means a large sausage or cold cut, named for the Italian city of its origin.
- Stage 1 · Italian · medieval Bologna "an Italian city name", a city in northern Italy famous for its seasoned sausage.
- Stage 2 · English · 1600s bologna "a seasoned sausage, or a large sliced cold cut", 'baloney', nonsense, grew from this word in 1920s American slang.