polenta

noun

po·​len·​ta pō-ˈlen-tə 

pə-,

-ˌtä

: mush made of chestnut meal, cornmeal, semolina, or farina

Examples of polenta in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But Derry and Murphy thought Booker spent too much time creating his tuile, giving short shrift to the lamb and the polenta. —Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 10 Apr. 2024

Rather than roasting potatoes, combining the starchy flesh with flour and egg yolk and forming them — lightly, so lightly, please! — into dumplings before boiling them, this style comes together more like polenta. —Joe Yonan, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Italian, from Latin, crushed and hulled barley; akin to Latin pollen fine flour

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

polenta

noun

po·​len·​ta pō-ˈlen-tə 

: mush made of chestnut meal, cornmeal, or grain

Biographical Definition

Polenta

biographical name

Po·​len·​ta pō-ˈlen-tə 

Francesca da died 1283(or 1284) Francesca da Rimini ˌfran-ˈche-skə-dä-ˈri-mə-(ˌ)nē 

ˌfrän-,

-ˈrē-

Italian noblewoman famous for tragic adulterous love affair