EtymologyMap
Back to all words

Trace the journey of words

Today it means

pizza

a baked dish of flattened bread topped with sauce, cheese, and other toppings

Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate

Where does the word "pizza" come from? It comes from Italian pizza, and was adopted directly into English (1800s-1900s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "pizza" come from? It comes from Italian pizza, and was adopted directly into English (1800s-1900s).

Pizza’s story begins in Italian: pizza meant “flatbread.” Possibly from Lombardic "bizzo" (bite) or Greek "pitta" (flatbread). It reached English by 1800s-1900s as pizza. Brought to the US by Italian immigrants. Today, pizza means a baked dish of flattened bread topped with sauce, cheese, and other toppings.

  1. Stage 1 · Italian · medieval pizza "flatbread", possibly from Lombardic "bizzo" (bite) or Greek "pitta" (flatbread).
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1800s-1900s pizza "a flatbread topped dish", brought to the US by Italian immigrants.

Browse by origin