Etymograph

English

crostata

Crostata comes from Italian crostata ‘tart (dessert)’, from crosta ‘crust’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krews-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krews-1‘to form a crust, begin to freeze’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krustós1‘hardened’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*krustos2reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrusta1
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentcrosta3‘crust’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentcrostata4‘tart (dessert)’
  7. Englishtodaycrostata4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Italian crosta
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin crusta
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Italian crostata
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English crostata

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krews-Wiktionary, Italian crosta‘to form a crust, begin to freeze’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krustósWiktionary, Italian crosta‘hardened’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*krustosWiktionary, Latin crustareconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrustaWiktionary, Italian crosta
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentcrostaWiktionary, Italian crostata‘crust’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentcrostataWiktionary, English crostata‘tart (dessert)’
  7. EnglishtodaycrostataWiktionary, English crostata

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *krews- ‘to form a crust, begin to freeze’

crystalline, cryopreservation, 5 more

through Proto-Italic *krustos

crusty, 4 more

through Latin crusta

crust, 5 more

Today it means

noun A kind baked tart of Italian origin, made with shortcrust pastry spread over a baking sheet, then covered with a layer of jam and then decorated with thin strips of the same dough, placed crosswise to form diamonds.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “crostata”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Italian crosta, Latin crusta, Italian crostata. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *krews- / crostata

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