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macaronies

 - 3 dictionary results

mac⋅a⋅ro⋅ni

  [mak-uh-roh-nee]
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–noun, plural -nis, -nies for 2.
1. small, tubular pasta prepared from wheat flour.
2. an English dandy of the 18th century who affected Continental mannerisms, clothes, etc.
Also, maccaroni.

Origin:
1590–1600; earlier maccaroni < dial. It, pl. of maccarone (It maccherone). See macaroon
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mac·a·ro·ni   (māk'ə-rō'nē)   
n.  

  1. pl. macaroni Pasta in any of various hollow shapes, especially short curved tubes.

  2. pl. macaroni or mac·a·ro·nies

    1. A well-traveled young Englishman of the 18th and 19th centuries who affected foreign customs and manners.

    2. A fop.


[Italian dialectal maccaroni, pl. of maccarone, dumpling, macaroni.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

macaroni 
1599, from southern It. dialect maccaroni (It. maccheroni), pl. of *maccarone, possibly from maccare "bruise, batter, crush," of unknown origin, or from late Gk. makaria "food made from barley." Used after c.1764 to mean "fop, dandy" (the "Yankee Doodle" reference) because it was an exotic dish at a time when certain young men who had traveled the continent were affecting Fr. and It. fashions and accents. There is said to have been a Macaroni Club in Britain, which was the immediate source of the term.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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