lasagna

English

A serving of lasagna

Alternative forms

• lasagne

Etymology

From Italian lasagna (and its plural lasagne), possibly from Vulgar Latin *lasania, from Latin lasanum (“cooking pot”), from Ancient Greek λάσανον (lásanon, “trivet or stand for a pot”). Others argue the Italian lasagna originally derived from the Arabic لَوْزِينَج‎ (lawzīnaj, “almond cake”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ləˈzɑː.njə/, /ləˈsɑː.njə/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ləˈzæn.jə/, /ləˈzɑ.njə/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ləˈzɑ.njə/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /lɘˈsɐː.njɘ/, /lɘˈzɐː.njɘ/

Noun

lasagna (countable and uncountable, plural lasagnas or lasagne)

1. A flat sheet of pasta.
2. An Italian baked dish comprising layers of such pasta with various ingredients (usually a meat ragù (chiefly Bolognese), a fish ragù or a vegetarian/vegetable ragù with bechamel sauce).
   • 2013, James Lee Burke, Light of the World, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 299:

     I’m going to fix you a cup of coffee and a plate of lasagna.

3. (by extension) A combination or layering of things.
   • 1996, Lance Olsen, Time Famine: A Novel:

     Kristofer'd gotten it through his head shortly after their arrival to swim naked in the lake, such as it was, and his skin blemished into a lasagna of red hives, white welts, and disarming yellowish spots.

   • 2008, Body & Soul:

     Unfortunately, typical mattresses are often a lasagna of nonbiodegradable synthetics, pesticides, and potentially carcinogenic toxins.

   • 2011, Thorsten Botz-Bornstein, Inception and Philosophy: Ideas to Die for, Open Court Publishing, →ISBN, page 280:

     It's sort of a lasagna of ideas about time and dreams.

   • 2013, Molly Harper, How to Run with a Naked Werewolf, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:

     “Everything about us is just one layer of lies after another. We're a lasagna of lies. This is a terrible basis for a relationship.”

   • 2020, Rebecca E. Hirsch, Garfield's Guide to Lasagna: Cooking Nature's Perfect Food, Lerner Publications, →ISBN, page 20:

     CHOCOLATE LASAGNA / Who says lasagna is only a main dish? Serve this easy, no-bake lasagna for dessert. / Ingredients / 2 3.9-ounce packages (110 g) instant chocolate pudding mix / 2 cups (473 mL) milk / 8 ounces (227g) whipped topping / 16 graham crackers, chocolate or plan / 1 1/2 cups (75g) mini marshmallows / chocolate syrup

Usage notes

• In Italian, lasagna refers to one flat sheet of pasta and its plural form, lasagne, refers to the dish. This distinction is also observed in English, but only rarely in American English.
• When the dish is referred to as lasagne (rather than lasagna), lasagnes is sometimes found as the plural form, referring to multiple dishes or varieties.

Derived terms

• lasagna code
• Mexican lasagna

Translations

flat sheet of pasta

• Catalan: lasanya (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 麵皮／面皮 (zh) (miànpí)千層麵／千层面 (zh) (qiāncéngmiàn)

• Estonian: lasanjeplaat
• Finnish: lasagnelevy (fi)
• Galician: lasaña (gl) f
• German: Lasagneplatte (de) f
• Greek: λαζάνια (el) (lazánia)
• Hungarian: lasagna lap
• Italian: lasagna (it) f
• Japanese: ラザニア (razania), ラザニエ (razanie)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lasagneplate m or f

  Nynorsk: lasagneplate f

• Persian: لازانیا‎ (lâzânyâ)
• Polish: lasagne (pl) n pl, lazanie, lazania (pl) f (informally)
• Portuguese: lasanha (pt) f
• Russian: лаза́нья (ru) f (lazánʹja)
• Swedish: lasagneplatta c
• Turkish: lazanya (tr)

baked dish

• Arabic: لَازَانْيَا‎ f (lazanyā)
• Armenian: լազանյա (lazanya)
• Bulgarian: лазаня f (lazanja)
• Catalan: lasanya (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 意大利千層麵／意大利千层面 (Yìdàlì qiāncéngmiàn), 千層麵／千层面 (zh) (qiāncéngmiàn), 烤寬麵條／烤宽面条 (kǎokuān miàntiáo)

• Czech: lasagne (cs) f pl, lazaně f pl (rare, nonstandard)
• Danish: lasagne (da) c
• Dutch: lasagne (nl) f
• Esperanto: lazanjo, lasanjoj pl
• Estonian: lasanje
• Finnish: lasagne (fi)
• French: lasagne (fr) f
• Galician: lasaña (gl) f
• German: Lasagne (de) f
• Icelandic: lasanja n, lasagna n
• Interlingua: lasagna
• Italian: lasagna (it) f (chiefly in the plural)
• Japanese: ラザニア (razania), ラザーニャ (razānya)
• Korean: 라자냐 (rajanya)
• Lithuanian: lazanija f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lasagne m

  Nynorsk: lasagne m

• Persian: لازانیا‎ (lâzânyâ)
• Polish: lasagne (pl) n pl, lazanie, lazania (pl) (informally)
• Portuguese: lasanha (pt) f
• Russian: лаза́нья (ru) f (lazánʹja)
• Spanish: lasaña (es) f
• Swedish: lasagne (sv) c
• Thai: ลาซัญญา (laa-san-yâa)
• Turkish: lazanya (tr)

Anagrams

• Alagnas, Laganas, galanas

Italian

Etymology

Possibly from Vulgar Latin *lasania, from Latin lasanum (“cooking pot”), from Ancient Greek λάσανον (lásanon, “trivet or stand for a pot”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laˈzaɲ.ɲa/
• Rhymes: -aɲɲa
• Hyphenation: la‧sà‧gna

Noun

lasagna f (plural lasagne)

1. (cooking, food) a food made of flat sheets of pasta alternated with condiments
2. (cooking, usually in the plural) a dish of lasagna

Derived terms

• lasagne alla bolognese (“Bolognese lasagna, Bologna-style lasagna, lasagna with Bolognese”)
• lasagne di pesce (“fish lasagna, lasagna with fish ragù”)
• lasagne di verdure (“vegetarian lasagna, lasagna with vegetable ragù”)

Descendants

(all are borrowed)

• Catalan: lasanya
• English: lasagna
• French: lasagne
• Icelandic: lasanja
• Japanese: ラザニア
• Korean: 라자냐 (rajanya)
• Portuguese: lasanha
• Russian: лаза́нья (lazánʹja)
• Spanish: lasaña
• Turkish: lazanya