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

The ready-to-cook couscous comes in three flavors: Original Plain, Parmesan, and my personal favorite, Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 12 June 2025

Add tomatoes, arugula or spinach, basil, grated Parmesan, pine nuts and cooled asparagus. —Gretchen McKay, Boston Herald, 10 June 2025

Meanwhile in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, Parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. 4. —Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 9 June 2025

Pick out two starters, with choices like Chicken Tortilla Soup and Side Caesar; two entrees from a list that includes Grass-fed Steak, Barramundi Seabass and Grilled Parmesan Shrimp; and two desserts from such options as Mango Tart, Banana Cream Pie and gluten-free Chocolate Cake. —Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 30 May 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

Rhymes for Parmesan

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

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