Where does “pesto” come from?
Pesto comes from Italian pesto, derived from Italian pestare meaning "to pound or crush," from Latin pinso with the same sense, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European peys-.
pesto (English): A sauce, especially for pasta, originating from...
Definitions
- A sauce, especially for pasta, originating from...
Ancestry of “pesto”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | pesto | crushed, ground, beaten; livid, bluish, black;... |
| 2 | Latin | pistus | pounded, beaten |
| 3 | Latin | pīnsō | to beat, pound |
| 4 | Spanish | pienso | animal feed; thought |
| 5 | Latin | pēnsum | allotment, portion, weight (of wool measured out to a slave to spin in a day) |
| 6 | Latin | pendō | to weigh, weigh out |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | pendō | hang, put in a hanging position |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)péndeti | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)pend- | to stretch |