gelato

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

Gelato’s story begins in Italian: gelato meant “frozen.” Literally frozen, from gelare (to freeze), Italy's dense style of ice cream. It reached English by 1900s as gelato. Italian 'frozen', from Latin 'gelare'; Florentine confectioners such as Buontalenti are credited with early recipes. Today, gelato means a dense, creamy Italian-style frozen dessert.

1. Stage 1 · Italian · medieval gelato "frozen", literally frozen, from gelare (to freeze), Italy's dense style of ice cream.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s gelato "a dense Italian-style frozen dessert", Italian 'frozen', from Latin 'gelare'; Florentine confectioners such as Buontalenti are credited with early recipes.