gnocco

English

Etymology

From Italian gnocco.

Noun

gnocco

1. singular of gnocchi
   • 1978, Nika Hazelton, The Regional Italian Kitchen, M. Evans and Company, Inc., →ISBN, page 129:

     Shape the gnocchi mixture into small 1½-inch-long loaves or gnocchi. Dip each gnocco into the flour, shaking off excess.

   • 2011, Anna Del Conte, Classic Italian Recipes: 75 Signature Dishes, Hamlyn, →ISBN:

     Lightly press each gnocco against the tines of a fork and then place them on a clean tea towel.

   • 2013, Isa Moskowitz, Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Week, Sphere, →ISBN, page 223:

     If you like, roll each gnocco across the back of the tines of a fork to make grooves.

   • 2015, Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, Tanya Bastianich Manuali, Lidia’s Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Great Italian Cook, Borzoi Books, →ISBN:

     Cook one gnocco as a tester, to make sure they hold together. Use a small ice-cream scoop or a soup spoon to form the gnocchi into rough balls, and drop into the simmering water, in batches if necessary to keep from crowding.

   • 2017, Fritz Brand, Cook Like a Man: Master Your Kitchen with 78 Simple and Delicious Recipes, Skyhorse Publishing, →ISBN:

     (If you have a gnocchi board, you can press each gnocco into its traditional shape by pressing it down with your thumb as you roll it over the lined surface.)

   • 2015, Marie Laforêt, Vegan Bible, Grub Street, published 2016, →ISBN:

     Roll each gnocco over the tines of a fork to make ridges, then place on a tea towel.

   • 2021, Vincent L. Di Paolo, Ishia and His Teacher: The Third Book of the Judas Trilogy, Xlibris, →ISBN:

     Ioanna, Lucilla and Iuliana had nearly finished rolling and cutting the gnocchi. He helped them by placing each gnocco in neat lines. […] Judas showed everyone how to spear each gnocco with his fork.

   • 2022, Margaux Vialleron, The Yellow Kitchen, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN:

     She cuts the gnocchi into two-centimetre pieces and rolls each gnocco against the back of her fork.

Italian

Etymology

From Venetan gnoco, perhaps from Lombard knohhil (“knot in wood”). Doublet of nocchio.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): ^*/ˈɲɔk.ko/
• Rhymes: -ɔkko
• Hyphenation: gnòc‧co

Noun

gnocco m (plural gnocchi)

1. (cooking, food) gnocchi (Italian variety of dumpling)
2. (cooking, in the plural) a dish of gnocchi
3. (by extension) knot, lump

   Synonyms: grumo, nodo

4. (figurative) goof, idiot

   Synonyms: cretino, tonto

   un vero gnocco ― a real goof

5. (slightly vulgar, slang) a handsome male

Adjective

gnocco (feminine gnocca, masculine plural gnocchi, feminine plural gnocche)

1. (slightly vulgar, slang) handsome, good looking

Derived terms

• gnocca

Related terms

• gnocchi