paella
pah-EH-yah · noun
Origin
Paella comes from Catalan paella, meaning 'pot' or 'pan,' which traces back through Old French paelle to Latin patella, meaning 'plate' or 'small pan.'
This is Curio: one word's origin story, every morning. No feed, no backlog.
One short email each morning. Free; stop anytime. See a sample →
Journey
The word started out simply naming the cooking vessel itself, and over time came to name the dish cooked inside it.
Related words
Paella is a doublet of patella (yes, the kneecap, also from Latin for 'small pan') and is possibly related to pail.