lasagna

Italian lasagna is recorded in medieval texts from the 1200s. The word came from Latin lasanum or lasana, meaning a cooking pot. Latin borrowed that from Greek lasanon, a pot or pan. The utensil name shifted to the baked dish.

Greek lasanon appears in classical sources by the 4th century BCE. The Latin term is attested by the 1st century CE. In Italy, lasagna came to mean layered pasta baked in a dish. By the 1600s, the culinary sense was stable.

English used lasagna by the 19th century, often alongside Italian cooking terms. The spelling alternates with lasagne, but the headword lasagna is standard in American English. The meaning centers on layered pasta sheets with sauce. The utensil sense vanished.

Modern usage includes the dish and, at times, individual sheets as lasagna noodles. The word still hints at the vessel that once defined the dish. Its path is a classic shift from tool to food. The dates mark a steady progression.