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Spaghetti

//spəˈɡɛti// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun

1
A type of pasta made in the shape of long thin strings. countable, uncountable, usually
"Her mother was cooking spaghetti for dinner."
2
plural of spaghetto form-of, plural, rare
3
pasta in the form of long strings wordnet
4
A type of pasta made in the shape of long thin strings.; A dish that has spaghetti (noun 1 sense 1) as a main part of it, such as spaghetti bolognese. broadly, countable, uncountable, usually
5
spaghetti served with a tomato sauce wordnet

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6
Denoting Italianness.; An Italian person. broadly, countable, derogatory, informal, uncountable, usually
7
Denoting Italianness.; Ellipsis of spaghetti western (“a motion picture depicting a story of cowboys and desperadoes set in the American Old West, but produced by an Italian-based company and filmed in Europe, notably in Italy”). abbreviation, alt-of, broadly, countable, ellipsis, uncountable, usually
8
Something physically resembling spaghetti (noun 1 sense 1) in appearance or consistency, or in being tangled. attributive, broadly, informal, often, uncountable, usually
"spaghetti grid spaghetti junction spaghetti limbs spaghetti strap spaghetti stripes"
9
Something physically resembling spaghetti (noun 1 sense 1) in appearance or consistency, or in being tangled.; Electrical insulating tubing or electrical wiring. attributive, broadly, informal, often, uncountable, usually
10
Something physically resembling spaghetti (noun 1 sense 1) in appearance or consistency, or in being tangled.; Roads forming a complex junction, especially one with multiple levels on a motorway. attributive, broadly, informal, often, uncountable, usually
11
Something confusing or intricate. figuratively, informal, uncountable, usually
"The lands along the Danube, by contrast, seemed wide open. That is, if he could find his way through them. “Arrows drawn on maps build up into an astonishing spaghetti of population movement,” Mr. Winder writes, and a single city like Lviv, now in Ukraine, might also have been called Lemberg, Lemberik, Lwow or Lvov."
12
Something confusing or intricate.; Ellipsis of spaghetti code (“unstructured or poorly structured program source code, especially code with many GOTO statements or their equivalent”). abbreviation, alt-of, derogatory, ellipsis, figuratively, informal, uncountable, usually

Verb

1
To serve (someone) spaghetti (noun noun 1 sense 1). humorous, informal, transitive
"Visiting members expected to attend, and all will be properly spaghettied."
2
To cause (someone or something) to become, or appear to become, longer and thinner; to stretch. informal, transitive
"He spaghettied the referee when he landed on him."
3
To cause (something) to become tangled. informal, transitive
"All these are spaghettied together, as the following boxscore will show: […]"
4
To eat spaghetti (noun noun 1 sense 1). humorous, informal, intransitive
"I have "spaghettied" from Ventimiglia to Brindisi and I doubt if I have ever eaten as excellent spaghetti, certainly none better nor richer, than I have enjoyed in the home of a very charming Maryland hostess."
5
To become, or appear to become, longer and thinner. informal, intransitive
"The oldest Lark spaghettied down to a noodle and slithered through the letterbox-like hole at the bottom of the cistern."

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6
To become tangled. informal, intransitive
"The cables spaghettied onto the shoulder of the technician."

Etymology

Etymology 1

The noun is borrowed from Italian spaghetti, the plural of spaghetto (“dish of spaghetti; (rare) strand of spaghetti”), from spago (“cord, string, twine; thread”) + -etto (diminutive suffix). Spago is derived from Latin spagus (“twine”), probably from Ancient Greek σφάκος (sphákos, “apple sage (Salvia pomifera)”), probably from Pre-Greek. The verb is derived from the noun.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

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