panettone

Where does the word "panettone" come from? It comes from Italian panetto, passing through Italian before entering English (1900s).

Panettone’s story begins in Italian: panetto meant “a small loaf of bread.” A small loaf of bread, a diminutive of pane (bread). Within Italian, it grew into panettone by 1800s. Settled as the name for the sweet, dome-shaped holiday bread of Milan. It reached English by 1900s as panettone. A Milanese Christmas bread; Motta and Alemagna began mass-producing it in the 1920s. Today, panettone means a sweet Italian bread traditionally eaten at Christmas, studded with candied fruit.

1. Stage 1 · Italian · medieval panetto "a small loaf of bread", a small loaf of bread, a diminutive of pane (bread).
2. Stage 2 · Italian · 1800s panettone "a sweet holiday bread", settled as the name for the sweet, dome-shaped holiday bread of Milan.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1900s panettone "a sweet Italian holiday bread with candied fruit", a Milanese Christmas bread; Motta and Alemagna began mass-producing it in the 1920s.