minestra

Italian

Etymology

From minestrare (“to serve, prepare (as in soup)”), from Latin ministrare.

Noun

minestra f (plural minestre)

1. soup
2. pasta (boiled and eaten with a sauce)

Usage notes

• In the Italian culinary tradition of a multi-course dinner this is usually the first course (not counting antipasto, if any). As a soup, it tends to be lighter than zuppa and with smaller pieces than minestrone.
• In most settings just ”minestra” will be understood to be a soup-like dish, but the term is also used to refer to minestra asciutta, which is a pasta dish.

Synonyms

• (pasta): minestra asciutta, pasta asciutta, pastasciutta

Related terms

• minestrina
• minestrone

Descendants

• → Alemannic German: Manestre

Anagrams

• mestrina
• sarmenti
• smentirà
• stermina