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

Process basil leaves, olive oil, walnuts, garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in food processor until mixture forms coarse paste. —Judy Bart Kancigor, Orange County Register, 30 Jan. 2025

Add pasta, 1/4 cup reserved pasta water, basil, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese; cook, stirring and tossing with tongs constantly, until pasta is coated, adding up to 1/3 cup more pasta water, as needed. —Marianne Williams, Southern Living, 29 Jan. 2025

During the Chinese New Year season, Win Son Bakery in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, collaborates with the nearby Taiwanese shop Yun Hai to offer a Parmesan shortbread filled with pineapple jam. —Sarah Archer Gisela Williams Martha Cheng Carla Valdivia Nakatani Ryan Haase, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025

Homemade Chicken Stock - Level up your stock with Parmesan rinds. —Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 18 Jan. 2025

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