Parmesan

noun

Par·​me·​san ˈpär-mə-ˌzän 

-ˌzhän,

-zən,

-ˌzan 

: a very hard dry sharply flavored cheese that is sold grated or in wedges

sprinkled grated Parmesan over the spaghetti

Examples of Parmesan in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At the table, L insists on shaking piles and piles of Parmesan onto his cheese pizza. —Bon Appétit Contributor, Bon Appétit, 15 July 2024

For the crispy potato on-a-stick try lemon pepper or garlic Parmesan for $14. —Elise Fisher, Sacramento Bee, 12 July 2024

Ideas for enjoying spinach include: Lightly sauté spinach with a little butter, and sprinkle with Parmesan and lemon for a great side dish. —Nancy Lebrun, Verywell Health, 12 July 2024

The garlic fries are tossed with Parmesan, garlic, herbs, chili flakes and lemon zest, then served with turmeric aioli. —Usa Today Network, USA TODAY, 10 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

short for Parmesan cheese; Parmesan "of the city of Parma," borrowed from Middle French parmisan, probably borrowed from a western Upper Italian variant of Tuscan parmigiano, from Parma "Parma" + -igiano, adjective suffix of appurtenance, from Vulgar Latin *-ēs- (going back to Latin -ensis, adjective suffix of place) + Latin -iānus -ian entry 2

Note: The expected Tuscan (and standard Italian) outcome of -igiano would be -iciano; cf. standard Italian bacio "kiss" (from Latin bāsium), usually pronounced [ˈba šo], but Ligurian [ˈba žu], Trentino (northwest Italy) [ˈba žo] (see Gerhard Rohlfs, Grammatica storica della lingua italiana e dei suoi dialetti: Sintassi e formazione delle parole, Turin, 1969, p. 392). The form -igiano with a voiced consonant hence presumably reflects Upper Italian influence. For instances of the same suffix as borrowed into French see courtesan, partisan entry 1. The common American English pronunciation of Parmesan with \zh\ may show dialectal Italian influence.

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

Parmesan

noun

Par·​me·​san ˈpär-mə-ˌzän  -ˌzhän 

-zən,

-ˌzan

: a very hard dry sharply flavored cheese that is sold grated or in wedges