pita

¹

[ pee-tuh ]

noun

1. a round Middle Eastern flatbread that is often filled with meat, peppers, etc., to make a sandwich.

pita

²

[ pee-tuh ]

noun

1. a fiber obtained from plants of the genera Agave, Aechmea, etc., used for cordage, mats, etc.
2. any of these plants.

pita

/ ˈpiːtə /

noun

1. any of several agave plants yielding a strong fibre See also istle
2. a species of pineapple, Ananas magdalenae, the leaves of which yield a white fibre
3. Also calledpita fibre the fibre obtained from any of these plants, used in making cordage and paper

Word History and Origins

Origin of pita¹

First recorded in 1935–40; from Modern Greek pḗtta, pítta, píta “bread, cake, pie”; further origin uncertain; perhaps from Greek peptós “cooked, baked”; perhaps from Modern Hebrew pittāh, pitāh, from Balkan Ladino pita “flat bread”; perhaps from Germanic, akin to Old High German bizzo, pizzo “bite, morsel”

Origin of pita²

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin American Spanish, from Quechua pita or Aymara p’ita

Word History and Origins

Origin of pita¹

C17: via Spanish from Quechua

Example Sentences

Because it was the last day of the parents’ visit from Connecticut, Rutan turned leftover breakfast eggs into an egg salad packed with lettuce wraps and pita crackers.

From Washington Post

Either way, your lamb will be stuffed into a wood-fired pita with feta, grilled red onions, fresh herbs, garlicky toum and a tahini sauce.

From Washington Post

If you’ve ever dipped pita after pita into a plate of baba ghanoush, you’re familiar with the wondrously smoky-sweet charms of grilled eggplant.

From Eater

Mound about a quarter of the chickpea mixture onto each pita, then sprinkle each with the feta, then the tomatoes and then the mozzarella cheese.

From Washington Post

For these pizzas, the chickpea mash gets piled onto whole-grain pita, then sprinkled with tangy feta cheese, chopped fresh tomatoes and shredded mozzarella.

From Washington Post

The half-circle of bread gets squeezed open to become a pocket like a huge, spongy pita.

From The Daily Beast

Sure, some falafel places in Israel stuff a couple of french fries into the pita.

From The Daily Beast

You don't technically need all the gadgets to do this, but without them, the PITA factor gets kind of high.

From The Daily Beast

Serve the burgers in toasted pita bread with lots of arugula, thinly sliced red onions, and roasted red peppers.

From The Daily Beast

Serve in warm pita bread with arugula, roasted red pepper, sliced red onion, and the following salsa.

From The Daily Beast

The Zoques make from the ixtle and pita thread and superior hammocks, in which they have quite a trade.

From Project Gutenberg

These are laced together by cords of the “pita” aloe; but the interstices between are left open, so as freely to admit the breeze.

From Project Gutenberg

The sides were formed of bamboos, closely picketed, and laced together by fibres of the pita.

From Project Gutenberg

Blackbirds are decoyed by kernels of corn threaded on a snare of pita fibre hidden under the ground.

From Project Gutenberg

Pe- pita sat in a dream of joy, the color coming and going on her cheeks, her rapture glowing in her eyes.

From Project Gutenberg