torta

See also: torță

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔːtə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔɹtə/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)tə

Etymology 1

A typical torta

Borrowed from Spanish torta, from Latin turta, thought to derive from Latin tŏrta f (“twisted”). Doublet of torte and tart.

Noun

torta (plural tortas)

1. (US) A sandwich, served either hot or cold, on an oblong white sandwich roll, derived from Mexican cuisine.
2. A flat heap of moist, crushed silver ore, prepared for the patio process.
3. (slang) An overweight or obese Hispanic woman, especially one deemed attractive.

Derived terms

• torta ahogada
• torta pounder

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Tagalog torta, from Spanish torta, from Latin turta, thought to derive from Latin tŏrta f (“twisted”). Doublet of torte and tart.

Noun

torta (plural tortas)

1. A Philippine omelette of ground meat and potatoes.

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Italian torta, from Latin turta, thought to derive from Latin tŏrta f (“twisted”). Doublet of torte and tart.

Noun

torta (countable and uncountable, plural tortas)

1. An Italian cake.
   • 1991, Patricia Unterman, editor, Best Restaurants of San Francisco: The San Francisco Chronicle Guide to Fine Dining, San Francisco, Calif.: Chronicle Books, →ISBN, page 275:

     They include fresh noodles, roasted chickens, savory Italian tortas, caponata and other antipasti like roasted onions in balsamic vinegar, crusty walnut breads, biscotti, and fabulous Italian desserts.

   • 1996 May 6, Gael Greene, “Where the Boys Are”, in New York, page 92, column 1:

     Perhaps there could be a smarter balsamic kick in the latte cotto custard, more oomph in the chocolate torta.

   • 1998, Donna Peck, Romantic Days and Nights in San Francisco: Intimate Escapes in the City by the Bay, Globe Pequot Press, →ISBN, page 153:

     Internationally popular from his cookbooks and television show, Middione fills the deli case with southern Italian tortas, roasted chicken, polenta, and white bean salad.

   • 2003, Elgy Gillespie, “Trattoria Contadina”, in The Rough Guide to San Francisco Restaurants, 2004 edition, Rough Guides Ltd, →ISBN, page 98:

     To follow, there’s good, strong coffee and desserts such as chocolate torta with fresh whipped cream ($4.50), which comes from the divine Victoria Bakery a few steps away over the road (try their “Ugly But Beautiful” nut meringues), and gelato zabaglione ($3.50), an absolutely ambrosial yellow fluff.

   • 2003 winter, Linda Marx, “Boardwalk baby”, in Palm Beach Life, page 34:

     The cuisine is rustic, with a decent choice of fish and meat, and great desserts like hazelnut chocolate torta with meringue doused in espresso and layered chantilly cream with bitter cocoa, or “bugies,” little fried pockets of dough filled with candied lemon zest and grappa di Moscato, then dusted with sugar.

   • 2007, Marusya Bociurkiw, Comfort Food for Breakups: The Memoir of a Hungry Girl, Arsenal Pulp Press, →ISBN:

     I cooked for her as I had never cooked before: Spanish appetizers, Thai curries, and Italian tortas landed before her in dizzying, delectable profusion.

   • 2012, Steven Parlato, The Namesake, Merit Press, Simon & Schuster, Inc., →ISBN:

     Leaving the world behind, I’d wallow in frosty solitude and chocolate torta.

     Italian is sometimes mentioned in the book.

   • 2015, Leslie Parry, Church of Marvels, Two Roads, →ISBN:

     He’d spoken in Italian to the woman at the door—the same words of condolence that the Scarlattas had used when visiting their grieving neighbors. People arrived bearing plates of food and fresh-cut flowers. There was a table crowded with offerings: a whole muskmelon, chocolate torta and jugs of wine, lamb stew with a skin of orange grease.

   • 2017, Katherine A. McIver, Kitchens, Cooking, and Eating in Medieval Italy, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 8:

     The Venetian writer’s torta (see Appendix II) will serve twenty-five people, and he specifies the quantities of ingredients and how to bake the torta (over a low flame).

   • 2018, Italy, 13th edition, Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd, →ISBN:

     It stocks global conceptual fashion from Marni, Martin Margela, Comme des Garçons et al, but come for the more interesting independent Italian labels or just a peek at the whimsical displays and enjoy a slice of torta and espresso in the in-store cafe.

   • 2018, Nepal, 11th edition, Lonely Planet Global Limited, →ISBN:

     Life is indeed sweet at Thamel’s best Italian bistro, offering up such delights as parmesan gnocchi; goat’s cheese and spinach ravioli; and sinfully rich chocolate torta.

   • 2019, Sue Parritt, chapter 14, in Feed Thy Enemy, Next Chapter, published 2021:

     As expected, the coach party arrive too late for afternoon tea, but Rob and Ivy enjoy the evening meal of soup, local fish and vegetables, followed by a slice of chocolate torta, served in a cavernous dining room located in the centre of the hotel’s first floor.

     The character takes a holiday in Italy.

   • 2020, Jane Godman [pseudonym; Amanda Anders], Family in the Crosshairs, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, →ISBN:

     He and Vincente are going head-to-head in a baking challenge. Wyoming meets Italy. Apple pie versus chocolate torta. It should be fun.

   • 2020, Mara G. Fox, The Other Side of Como, Eyewear Publishing Ltd, →ISBN:

     Crimson nails flashing dangerously, she slowly cuts a piece of torta with the small fork, and raises it before her parted lips. ‘It is delicious, what’s in it?’ / Straightening his back and lifting his right hand, as if engaging in a poetic recital, he begins. ‘It has all the ingredients of the mountain: almonds and round hazelnuts from the Langhe in Piedmont, flour and eggs from the land, yeast. […]”

   • 2022, Katie Hafner, The Boys, Spiegel & Grau, →ISBN:

     As dessert was being served—an intensely rich chocolate torta—she asked one of the waiters if she might take the delicacy up to one of the guests who was celebrating his birthday. The waiter returned with a generous slice of the cake, ringed with paste di meliga, cornmeal shortbread cookies that were a specialty of the region.

Anagrams

• ottar, Ratto, rotta, tarot, tator, Tatro, torat, troat

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈto̞r.tə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Central) [ˈtɔr.tə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈtɔɾ.ta]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [ˈtɔr.ta]

Etymology 1

Nominalization of what was originally the feminine past participle of tòrcer.

Noun

torta f (plural tortes)

1. twisting

   Synonym: torsió

2. turn, bend

   Simulava que estava borratxo i marxava fent tortes cap a casa.

   He pretended he was drunk and went off towards home making twists and turns.

3. a circuitous route, a roundabout way

   Synonym: marrada

Etymology 2

Adjective

torta

1. feminine singular of tort

Noun

torta f (plural tortes)

1. female equivalent of tort (“one-eyed person”)

Further reading

• “torta”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “torta”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “torta”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)
• “torta” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese, from Latin turta. Thought to derive from Latin tŏrta f (“twisted”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɔɾta/ [ˈt̪ɔɾ.t̪ɐ]
• Rhymes: -ɔɾta
• Hyphenation: tor‧ta

Noun

torta f (plural tortas)

1. tart
2. pie

Further reading

• “torta”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Hungarian

torta (Őrség's Green Gold, The Cake of Hungary, 2016

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian torta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtortɒ]
• Rhymes: -tɒ
• Hyphenation: tor‧ta

Noun

torta (plural torták)

1. torte, cake, gateau (a dense dessert richly decorated and filled with cream or jam)

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	torta	torták
accusative	tortát	tortákat
dative	tortának	tortáknak
instrumental	tortával	tortákkal
causal-final	tortáért	tortákért
translative	tortává	tortákká
terminative	tortáig	tortákig
essive-formal	tortaként	tortákként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	tortában	tortákban
superessive	tortán	tortákon
adessive	tortánál	tortáknál
illative	tortába	tortákba
sublative	tortára	tortákra
allative	tortához	tortákhoz
elative	tortából	tortákból
delative	tortáról	tortákról
ablative	tortától	tortáktól
non-attributive possessive – singular	tortáé	tortáké
non-attributive possessive – plural	tortáéi	tortákéi

Possessive forms of torta

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	tortám	tortáim
2nd person sing.	tortád	tortáid
3rd person sing.	tortája	tortái
1st person plural	tortánk	tortáink
2nd person plural	tortátok	tortáitok
3rd person plural	tortájuk	tortáik

Derived terms

Compound words

• csokoládétorta
• diótorta
• dobostorta
• sajttorta
• tortalapát

Expressions

• Fekete-erdő torta

Further reading

• torta in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Interlingua

Etymology

From Late Latin torta, from the expression torta pānis f sg (literally “a twist of bread”), from the feminine of the adjective tortus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtor.ta/

Noun

torta (plural tortas)

1. cake

Italian

Etymology 1

From Latin turta. Thought to derive from Latin tŏrta f (“twisted”), which yielded tòrta in Italian.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtor.ta/
• Rhymes: -orta
• Hyphenation: tór‧ta

Noun

torta f (plural torte)

1. pie, tart, cake or similar
2. (heraldry) roundel (of a tincture; see bisante)

Derived terms

• torta di Natale
• torta pasqualina
• tortaio
• tortano
• tortello, tortellino
• tortiera
• tortino

Related terms

• torto
• torcere

Descendants

• → English: torta
• → German: Torte, Tarte (obsolete, but borrowed anew from Modern French), Turte (obsolete)
  • → Czech: dort
  • → English: torte
  • → Estonian: tort
  • → Hungarian: torta
  • → Japanese: トルテ (torute)
  • → Macedonian: торта (torta)
  • → Polish: tort
  • → Romanian: tort
  • → Russian: торт (tort), тортъ (tort) — pre-1918 spelling
    • → Armenian: տորթ (tortʻ)
    • → Kazakh: торт (tort)
    • → Yakut: торт (tort)
  • → Serbo-Croatian: torta / торта
  • → Ukrainian: торт (tort)
• → Turkish: turta

Etymology 2

Back-formation from torto, past participle of torcere (“to twist”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɔr.ta/
• Rhymes: -ɔrta
• Hyphenation: tòr‧ta

Noun

torta f (plural torte)

1. (rare) the act of twisting
2. (archaic) the result of twisting

   Synonyms: torcitura, piegatura

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɔr.ta/
• Rhymes: -ɔrta
• Hyphenation: tòr‧ta

Participle

torta

1. feminine singular of torto

Adjective

torta

1. feminine singular of torto

Anagrams

• ratto, rotta, trota

Kashubian

Torta

Etymology

Borrowed from German Torte.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɔr.ta/
• Rhymes: -ɔrta
• Syllabification: tor‧ta

Noun

torta f (diminutive tortk or torcëk)

1. torte, gateau (type of cake)

Declension

Declension of torta

	singular	plural
nominative	torta	tortë
genitive	tortë	tort/tortów
dative	torce	tortóm
accusative	tortã	tortë
instrumental	tortą	tortama
locative	torce	tortach
vocative	torta/torto	tortë

Further reading

• Jan Trepczyk (1994), “tort”, in Słownik polsko-kaszubski (in Kashubian), volumes 1–2
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “tort”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[1]
• “torta”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Latin

Etymology

From torta pānis f sg (literally “a roll of bread”); either from the feminine of tortus (“twisted, folded over”) that describes the form of the bread (torta [forma]), or from turta (“type of pastry”).

Noun

torta f (genitive tortae); first declension

1. (Late Latin) roll of bread (usually made with unsifted flour)
   • c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Chronicles.16.3:

     tortam panis et partem assae carnis bubulae et frixam oleo similam

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	torta	tortae
genitive	tortae	tortārum
dative	tortae	tortīs
accusative	tortam	tortās
ablative	tortā	tortīs
vocative	torta	tortae

Participle

torta

1. inflection of tortus:
   1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

Participle

tortā

1. ablative feminine singular of tortus

References

• “torta”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "torta", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Piedmontese

Alternative forms

• turta

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈturta/

Noun

torta f (plural torte)

1. cake, tart, pie

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔʁ.tɐ/ [ˈtɔh.tɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔʁ.tɐ/ [ˈtɔh.tɐ]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔɾ.tɐ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔʁ.tɐ/ [ˈtɔχ.tɐ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔɻ.tɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔɾ.tɐ/

• Audio (Brazil (Caipira)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɾtɐ
• Hyphenation: tor‧ta

Etymology 1

From Latin torta, feminine of tortus.

Adjective

torta

1. feminine singular of torto

Related terms

• torcer

Etymology 2

From Old Galician-Portuguese, from Latin turta. Thought to derive from Latin tŏrta f (“twisted”).

Noun

torta f (plural tortas)

1. (Brazil) pie, tart

   Synonym: (Portugal) tarte

2. (Portugal) Swiss roll

   Synonym: (Brazil) rocambole

Derived terms

• minitorta
• torta de bolacha
• torta de climão
• torteira
• tortinha

Related terms

• tortilha

Further reading

• “torta”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “torta”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “torta”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “torta”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Torte.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tôːrta/
• Hyphenation: tor‧ta

Noun

tȏrta f (Cyrillic spelling то̑рта)

1. cake

Declension

Declension of torta

	singular	plural
nominative	tȏrta	torte
genitive	torte	tȍrātā / tȏrtī
dative	torti	tortama
accusative	tortu	torte
vocative	torto	torte
locative	torti	tortama
instrumental	tortom	tortama

Further reading

• "torta" in Hrvatski jezični portal

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin turta. Thought by many to have been derived from Latin torta (“twisted”), but this actually yielded tuerta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtoɾta/ [ˈt̪oɾ.t̪a]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾta
• Syllabification: tor‧ta

Noun

torta f (plural tortas)

1. (South America) cake

   Synonym: pastel

2. (Colombia) tart, pie

   Synonym: tarta

3. (Mexico, Guatemala) submarine sandwich

   Synonyms: (Spain) bocadillo, bocata

4. (Spain) flatbread
5. (Spain, colloquial) slap in the face, cuff on the ear

   Synonyms: bofetada, bofetón, cachetada, sopapo

6. (colloquial) drunkenness

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:borrachera

7. (colloquial, sometimes derogatory, Rioplatense) dyke, lez (a lesbian)

   Synonym: arepera

Derived terms

• a falta de pan, buenas son tortas
• torta de carne (“Salisbury steak”) (Latin America)
• torta de cumpleaños
• torta de queso (“cheesecake”) (Venezuela)
• torta marmolada
• tortazo
• tortear
• tortera
• tortero
• tortilla
• tortita
• zampatortas

Related terms

• torcer
• tuerta
• tuerto

Descendants

• → English: torta
• → Tagalog: torta
  • → English: torta

Further reading

• “torta”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Anagrams

• tarot, trató, trato, trotá, trota

Swedish

Alternative forms

• tolta

Etymology

Unknown. Cognate with synonymous Norwegian turt, tort, turta, torta, turte, torte, Danish turt.

Noun

torta c

1. alpine sow-thistle (Cicerbita alpina)

Declension

Declension of torta

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	torta	tortas
	definite	tortan	tortans
plural	indefinite	tortor	tortors
	definite	tortorna	tortornas

Further reading

• “torta”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish torta (“cake”). Compare Cebuano torta (“cupcake”) and English tart.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈtoɾta/ [ˈt̪oɾ.t̪ɐ]
• Rhymes: -oɾta
• Syllabification: tor‧ta

Noun

torta (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜓᜇ᜔ᜆ)

1. torta (a type of egg omelette with various ingredients, especially eggplant)

Derived terms

• tortahan
• tortahin
• tortang alamang
• tortang giniling
• tortang gulay
• tortang hipon
• tortang kalabasa
• tortang kamote
• tortang okra
• tortang talong

Related terms

• tortilya

Descendants

• → English: torta

See also

• omelet

Anagrams

• trato

Veps

Etymology

From the noun torv.

Verb

torta

1. to blow (trumpet, horn, etc.)

Inflection

Inflection of torta (inflection type 9/kogota)
1st infinitive	torta
present indic.	tordab
past indic.	torzi
	present indicative	past indicative	imperative
1st singular	tordan	torzin	—
2nd singular	tordad	torzid	torda
3rd singular	tordab	torzi	torkaha
1st plural	tordam	torzim	torkam
2nd plural	tordat	torzit	torkat
3rd plural	tortas tordaba	torziba	torkaha
sing. conneg.1	torda	tordand	torda
plur. conneg.	torkoi	tornugoi	torkoi
	present conditional	past conditional	potential
1st singular	tordaižin	tornuižin	tornen
2nd singular	tordaižid	tornuižid	torned
3rd singular	tordaiži	tornuiži	torneb
1st plural	tordaižim	tornuižim	tornem
2nd plural	tordaižit	tornuižit	tornet
3rd plural	tordaižiba	tornuižiba	torneba
connegative	tordaiži	tornuiži	torne
non-finite forms
1st infinitive	torta
2nd infinitive		3rd infinitive
inessive	tortes	inessive	tormas
instructive	torten	illative	tormaha
participles		elative	tormaspäi
present active	tordai	adessive	tormal
past active	tornu	abessive	tormat
past passive	tortud
1 In imperative: used only in the second-person singular. The plural form is used with other persons.

References

• Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “трубить”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎^[2], Petrozavodsk: Periodika