quesadilla

Where does the word "quesadilla" come from? It comes from Spanish queso, passing through Mexican Spanish before entering English (1900s).

Quesadilla’s story begins in Spanish: queso meant “cheese.” Cheese, combined with a diminutive suffix for a small cheese-filled dish. By 1600s, the word had taken hold in Mexican Spanish as quesadilla. Settled in Mexico for the folded, cheese-filled tortilla dish. It reached English by 1900s as quesadilla. Spanish 'little cheese thing'; in Mexico City quesadillas may contain no cheese at all. Today, quesadilla means a Mexican dish of a folded tortilla filled with cheese and other ingredients.

1. Stage 1 · Spanish · 1500s queso "cheese", cheese, combined with a diminutive suffix for a small cheese-filled dish.
2. Stage 2 · Mexican Spanish · 1600s quesadilla "a folded, cheese-filled tortilla", settled in Mexico for the folded, cheese-filled tortilla dish.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1900s quesadilla "a folded tortilla filled with cheese and other ingredients", Spanish 'little cheese thing'; in Mexico City quesadillas may contain no cheese at all.