*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of orzo

Borrowed from Italian orzo (“barley”), from Latin hordeum, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰr̥sdeyom (“bristly”). Doublet of orgeat and horchata.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A form of pasta the size and shape of grains of rice or barley; often used in soups.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Italian orzo (“barley”), from Latin hordeum, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰr̥sdeyom (“bristly”). Doublet of orgeat and horchata.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "orzo",
        "4": "",
        "5": "barley"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian orzo (“barley”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "hordeum"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin hordeum"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ǵʰr̥sdeyom",
        "4": "",
        "5": "bristly"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰr̥sdeyom (“bristly”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "orgeat"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of orgeat"
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "horchata",
        "notext": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "horchata"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "orzo",
      "orzo#Italian"
    ],
    [
      "hordeum",
      "hordeum#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*ǵʰr̥sdeyom",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰr̥sdeyom"
    ],
    [
      "orgeat",
      "orgeat#English"
    ],
    [
      "horchata",
      "horchata#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A form of pasta the size and shape of grains of rice or barley; often used in soups."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "18795c0fc33f88baeabf9a94b93e77fe63034a5932189922e5dfa72997026e56",
      "rawRecordSha256": "def7134553025da7d37f3eba5c6811901ccc25df01e257c6fc7a01cb7be6b653",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 362192
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for orzo →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-b3J6bw