Everyday LifeGreek → English
Casserole
/ˈkæsəroʊl/noun
A deep covered dish for slow oven cooking, and the food cooked in it.
The Greek roots
κύαθος
kýathos
ladle, cup
κυάθιον
kyáthion
little cup
Literally: “little ladle”
The story of the word
The usual account runs from the Greek κυάθιον, a small ladle, through Late Latin cattia to Provençal cassa and French casse, a pan, with the diminutive casserole on the end; dictionaries print the chain but flag the Latin link as uncertain, so treat the Greek as probable rather than proved. What is clear is the order of meanings. English borrowed the word in the eighteenth century for the pot alone, and only in the twentieth did it come to mean whatever is inside it.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Late Latin → Old Provençal → French → English
- First recorded
- 18th century
In a sentence
She left a casserole on the step, still warm, with cooking instructions taped to the lid.