Etymograph

English

cassata

Cassata comes from Italian cassata ‘cassata siciliana’, and perhaps goes back to Vulgar Latin cāseus ‘cheese’.

  1. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEcāseus1‘cheese’uncertain
  2. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*cāseāta1uncertain
  3. Sicilianmoderncassata1‘cassata siciliana’
  4. Italianc. 1300–presentcassata1‘cassata siciliana’
  5. Englishtodaycassata1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English cassata

Lineage

  1. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEcāseusWiktionary, English cassata‘cheese’uncertain
  2. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*cāseātaWiktionary, English cassatauncertain
  3. SicilianmoderncassataWiktionary, English cassata‘cassata siciliana’
  4. Italianc. 1300–presentcassataWiktionary, English cassata‘cassata siciliana’
  5. EnglishtodaycassataWiktionary, English cassata

The story

Borrowed from Italian cassata (‘cassata siciliana’), from Sicilian cassata, probably from Vulgar Latin *cāseāta, from cāseus (‘cheese’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Vulgar Latin cāseus ‘cheese’

cheese, queso, quesadilla, casein, 8 more

Today it means

noun A type of tutti-frutti or Neapolitan ice cream with nuts and candied fruits.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cassata”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Vulgar Latin cāseus / cassata

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