parmesan

P3A1R1M3E1S1A1N1
UK/ˈpɑːmɪˌzæn/UK/ˌpɑːmɪˈzæn//ˈpɑː(ɹ).məˌzɑːn//ˈpɑɹ.məˌʒɑn/

noun

A hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma or its neighboring province Reggio Emilia.

“Most of the parmesan in our grocery store comes from Wisconsin.”

Less commonScrabble 12

Meanings

parmesan1

nounparmesan (usually uncountable, plural parmesans)

plural parmesans · alternative Parmesan

  1. uncountableusuallyA hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma or its neighboring province Reggio Emilia.

    Synonyms: Parmigiano-Reggiano, reggiano

  2. broadlyuncountableusuallyA similar cheese produced elsewhere.

    Most of the parmesan in our grocery store comes from Wisconsin.

  3. uncountableusuallyA breaded and fried cutlet, usually of chicken or veal, topped with tomato sauce and cheese.

    There were two sausage and peppers, two veal parmesans, and an eggplant rollitini and Debra ordered her chicken marsala.

    2007 10, Donald A. Moses, Donald a. Moses MD, Jack Be Quick: Sequel to the Detective Novel, Jack Be Nimble, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 281
    2 more examples

    You'll find that when cheese is used more as a garnish than a main ingredient in eggplant parmesan, the savory taste of eggplant, tomatoes and herbs will shine through.

    1992 12, “Vegetarian Times”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), page 22

    Homemade sauce is just one labor-intensive touch he adds to the shop's offerings. Pastas, lasagna, chicken and veal parmesans – as well as pizzas created on dough prepped the evening before – keep King moving almost without a pause[…]

    1999, Pizza Today
  4. slanguncountableusuallyMoney.

    Finesse a nigga with some counterfeits, but now I'm countin' this / Parmesan where my accountant lives, in fact I'm downin' this

    2017 March 30, Kendrick Duckworth, Michael Williams II, Asheton Hoga, “Humble”, in Damn, performed by Kendrick Lamar

    Synonyms: cheddar

Parmesan2

adjectiveParmesan (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOf, from or relating to the city or province of Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
nounParmesan (countable and uncountable, plural Parmesans)

plural Parmesans

  1. countableA native or inhabitant of the city or province of Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
  2. alternativecountableuncountableAlternative form of parmesan (a kind of cheese).

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma or its neighboring province Reggio Emilia.

nounMoney.

Similar

Origin

  1. LatinParma
  2. Latinparmēnsis
  3. Vulgar Latin*parmēsānus
  4. Middle Frenchparmesan
  5. Englishparmesan

Borrowed from Middle French parmesan, from an earlier Vulgar Latin *parmēsānus, restructuring of Latin parmēnsis (from Latin Parma). Compare Italian parmigiano, Catalan parmesà, Portuguese parmesão, Sicilian parmisanu, Spanish parmesano

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic بَارْمِيجْيَانُو, بَارْمِيزَان
  • بَارْمِيجْيَانُو (bārmījyānū)hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • بَارْمِيزَان (bārmīzān)hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Catalan parmesà, parmesà
  • parmesàhard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • parmesàfrom Parma
  • parmesàsomeone from Parma
Chinese Mandarin 巴馬乾酪 /巴马干酪, 帕馬森起司 /帕马森起司
  • 巴馬乾酪 /巴马干酪 (Bāmǎ gānlào)hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • 帕馬森起司 /帕马森起司hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Czech parmazán, parmezán
  • parmazánhard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • parmezánhard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Dutch parmezaan, parmezaankaas
  • parmezaanhard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • parmezaankaashard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Finnish parmesaani
  • parmesaanihard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
French parmesan, parmesan
  • parmesanhard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • parmesanfrom Parma
German Parmesan, Parmesankäse
  • Parmesanhard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • Parmesankäsehard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Hawaiian waiūpaʻa pamesana
  • waiūpaʻa pamesanahard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Hungarian parmezán
  • parmezánhard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Irish parmasán, cáis Parma
  • parmasánhard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • cáis Parmahard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Italian parmigiano, parmigiano
  • parmigianohard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • parmigianofrom Parma
  • parmensefrom Parma
  • parmensesomeone from Parma
Japanese パルメザン, パルミジャーノ
  • パルメザン (parumezan)hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • パルミジャーノ (parumijāno)hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Korean 파르메산, 파마산
  • 파르메산 (pareumesan)hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • 파마산 (pamasan)hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Norwegian Bokmål parmesan
  • parmesanhard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Polish parmezan
  • parmezanhard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Portuguese parmesão, parmesão
  • parmesãohard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • parmesãofrom Parma
  • parmensefrom Parma
  • parmesãosomeone from Parma
  • parmensesomeone from Parma
Romanian parmezan
  • parmezanhard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Russian пармеза́н
  • пармеза́н (parmezán)hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Spanish parmesano, parmesano
  • parmesanohard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • parmesanofrom Parma
  • parmesanosomeone from Parma
Swedish parmesan, parmesanost
  • parmesanhard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
  • parmesanosthard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Turkish parmasan peyniri
  • parmasan peynirihard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma
Yiddish פּאַרמעזאַן
  • פּאַרמעזאַן (parmezan)hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

parmesan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parmesan

MLA

“parmesan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parmesan. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parmesan,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parmesan.

Source: parmesan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.