Editing Minestrone (section)

==Etymology==
The word ''minestrone'', meaning a thick [[vegetable soup]], is attested in English from 1871. It is from [[Italian language|Italian]] ''minestrone'', the [[augmentative]] form of ''minestra'', 'soup', or more literally 'that which is served', from ''minestrare'', 'to serve',<ref name=etymonline>{{cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |title=Online Etymology Dictionary: Minestrone |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=minestrone&searchmode=none |access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref><ref name=m-w>{{cite encyclopedia |title=minestrone |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minestrone?show=0&t=1353179675 |dictionary=Merriam-Webster |access-date=17 November 2012 |year=2012}}</ref> and [[cognate]] with ''administer'' as in 'to administer a remedy'.

Because of its unique origins and the absence of a fixed recipe, minestrone varies widely across [[Italy]] depending on traditional cooking times, ingredients, and season. Minestrone ranges from a thick and dense texture with very boiled-down [[vegetable]]s to a more brothy soup with large quantities of diced and lightly cooked vegetables; it may also include [[meat]]s.

In modern Italian, there are three words corresponding to the English word ''soup'': ''zuppa'', which is used in the sense of [[tomato soup]], or [[fish soup]]; ''minestra'', which is used in the sense of a more substantial soup such as a vegetable soup, and also for "dry" soups, namely pasta dishes; and ''minestrone'', which means a very substantial or large soup or [[stew]], although the meaning has now come to be associated with this particular dish.