English
empanada
Empanada comes from Spanish empanar ‘to wrap in bread’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- ‘to protect, to ward’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂-1‘to protect, to ward’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpānis1‘bread, loaf’
- Old Spanishc. 950–1500pan1
- Spanishc. 1500–presentpan1‘bread’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentempanar2‘to wrap in bread’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentempanada2past participle of empanar
- Englishtodayempanada2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Spanish empanar
- 2 Wiktionary, English empanada
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂-Wiktionary, Spanish empanar‘to protect, to ward’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpānisWiktionary, Spanish empanar‘bread, loaf’
- Old Spanishc. 950–1500panWiktionary, Spanish empanar
- Spanishc. 1500–presentpanWiktionary, Spanish empanar‘bread’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentempanarWiktionary, English empanada‘to wrap in bread’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentempanadaWiktionary, English empanadapast participle of empanar
- EnglishtodayempanadaWiktionary, English empanada
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- ‘to protect, to ward’
food, father, feed, pope, pattern, foster, apparent, fur, pastor, penetration, papa, patriot, patron, fodder, accompany, perpetrator, pasture, forage, paternity, fad, ayr, paternal, padre, perpetrate, patrimony, patrician, pater, panini, pav, compere, pantaloons, 57 more
through Latin pānis ‘bread, loaf’
company, pain, panic, companion, accompaniment, bannock, pannier, 10 more
Today it means
noun Any of a variety of stuffed pastries found in Spanish, Filipino, and Latin American cuisine.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “empanada”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Spanish empanar. 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 *peh₂- / empanada