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

This savory bread pudding has tons of flavor and texture from ingredients like French bread that's been baked in a rich Parmesan custard. —Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 12 May 2026

Guests can choose which sauce their Boneless Wings are tossed in from Classic Buffalo, Honey BBQ, Sweet Asian Chili, Garlic Parmesan, Extra Hot Buffalo and Hot Honey Glaze. —Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 12 May 2026

This is backed up by some seriously delicious options in town like lasagna, tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini, mortadella, Parmesan cheese, and prosciutto di Parma, which all trace their roots here. —Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 11 May 2026

Opening first on Saturday, May 9, is Buccan Sandwich Shop, a grab-and-go lunch concept that specializes in sandwiches like the popular beef carpaccio with arugula, Parmesan, crispy onions, mayo, lemon vinaigrette, as well as turkey club, Cubano and Buffalo chicken sandwiches. —Connie Ogle updated May 8, Miami Herald, 8 May 2026

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

Rhymes for Parmesan

• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon
• cynodon
• denouement
• deuteron
• echelon
• epsilon

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