Spaghetti: A Story in Strands

The word ‘spaghetti’ first appeared in English in the nineteenth century, borrowed from Italian ‘spaghetto’, meaning ‘little cord’. Its root, Late Latin ‘spacus’, referred to a thread or strip. Long before the name was coined, Arab influence in medieval Sicily had shaped the drying of durum wheat into fine strands called ‘itriyah’. Over time these became known as ‘spaghi’, then ‘spaghetti’. The later pairing with tomato sauce turned the dish into an emblem of Naples, but the word still carries its literal image of ‘little cords’.