Editing Pita (section)

==Etymology==
The first mention of the word in English cited in the [[Oxford English Dictionary]] was in 1936.<ref name="oed">{{OED|pitta|id=144674}}</ref> The English word is borrowed from [[Modern Greek]] {{lang|el|πίτα}} ({{Transliteration|el|píta}}, {{gloss|bread, cake, pie}}), in turn from [[Byzantine Greek]] (attested in 1108),<ref name="oed"/> possibly from [[Ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc|πίττα}} ({{Transliteration|grc|pítta}}) or {{lang|grc|πίσσα}} ({{Transliteration|grc|píssa}}), both meaning {{gloss|pitch/resin}},<ref>Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Λεξικό της κοινής Νεοελληνικής</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Henry George|last1=Liddell |first2=Robert|last2=Scott |first3=Henry Stuart|last3=Jones |title=[[A Greek–English Lexicon]]}}</ref> or from {{lang|grc|πικτή}} ({{Transliteration|grc|piktḗ}}, {{gloss|fermented pastry}}), which may have passed to [[Latin]] as {{lang|la|picta}} cf. [[pizza#Etymology|pizza]].<ref>Javna, John. Uncle John's FACTASTIC Bathroom Reader, Printers Row, 2015</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Babiniotis |first=Georgios |date=2005 |title=Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας |trans-title=[[Dictionary of Modern Greek]] |language=el |publisher=Lexicology Centre |isbn=960-86190-1-7 |page=1413}}</ref><ref>The connection between {{lang|la|picta}} and {{lang|grc|πηκτή}} is not supported by the ''[[OED]]'' ''s.v.'' 'picture' nor by [[Carl Darling Buck|Buck, Carl Darling]], ''A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal Indo-European Languages'' (1949). 9.85 "paint", p. 629</ref> In [[Levantine Arabic]] it evolved into {{Transliteration|ar|[[fatteh]]}}, (since [[Old Arabic]] /[[Voiceless bilabial stop|p]]/ evolved into /[[Voiceless labiodental fricative|f]]/).<ref name="oed"/> Other hypotheses trace the word back to the [[Classical Hebrew]] word {{lang|hbo|פת}} ({{Transliteration|hbo|patt}}, {{lit|a morsel of bread}}).<ref name="Marks 2010"/> It is spelled like the [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] {{lang|arc|פיתא}} ({{Transliteration|arc|pittā}}), from which it was received into Byzantine Greek (see above). Hypotheses also exist for [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]<ref>{{cite book|author=Bracvini, G. Princi |title=Archivio Glottologico Italiano|volume=64|pages=42–89 |date=1979}} Cited by the ''OED''.</ref> or [[Illyrian language|Illyrian]] intermediaries.<ref>{{cite book|author= Kramer, J.|title=Balkan-Archiv|volume=14–15|pages=220–231 |date=1990}} Cited by the ''OED''.</ref>

The word has been borrowed by the [[Turkish language|Turkish]] language as {{lang|tr|pide}},<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MBRBjBTEBHYC&q=pita|title=Cuisine and culture: a history of food and people|author= Civitello, Linda|edition=Paperback|publisher=Wiley|year=2007|isbn=978-0-471-74172-5|page=98}}</ref> and appears in the [[Balkan languages]] as [[Serbo-Croatian|Bosnian-Serbian-Croatian]] {{lang|sh|pita}}, [[Romanian language|Romanian]] {{lang|ro|pită}}, [[Albanian language|Albanian]] {{lang|sq|pite}}, and [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] {{lang|bg|pitka}} or {{lang|bg|pita}}; however, in the Serbo-Croatian languages of the countries comprising the [[former Yugoslavia]], the word {{lang|sh|pita}} is used in a general sense meaning [[pie]].{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

In [[Arabic]], the phrase {{lang|ar|خبز البيتا}} ({{Transliteration|ar|khabaz albayta}}, {{lit|pita bread}}) is sometimes used; other names are simply {{lang|ar|[[Khubz|خبز]]}} ([[khubz|{{Transliteration|ar|khubz}}]], {{gloss|bread}}), {{lang|ar|الخبز العربي}} ({{Transliteration|ar|al-khubz al-ʿarabiyy}}, {{gloss|Arab bread}}) or {{lang|ar|خبز الكماج}} ({{Transliteration|ar|khabaz al-kimaj}}, {{gloss|al-kimaj bread}}).<ref name="Cauvain2015">{{cite book|last=Cauvain|first=Stanley|title=Technology of Breadmaking|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6q3BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA232|year=2015|publisher=Springer|location=New York|isbn=978-3-319-14687-4|page=232}}</ref> In [[Egyptian Arabic|Egypt]], it is called [[eish baladi]] ({{lang|arz|عيش بلدي}} {{Transliteration|arz|ʽēš baladi}}) or simply eish ({{lang|arz|عيش}} {{Transliteration|arz|ʽēš}}, {{gloss|bread}}),<ref name="Bard2005">{{cite book|editor-last=Bard|editor-first=Kathryn A. |editor-link=Kathryn A. Bard |title=Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AWSGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA178|year=2005|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-1-134-66525-9|page=178}}</ref> although other subtypes of "bread" are common in Egypt, such as [[eish fino]] and [[eish merahrah]].

In [[Greek language|Greek]], {{Transliteration|el|pita}} ({{lang|el|πίτα}}) is understood by default to refer to the thicker, pocketless Greek pita, whereas the thinner ''khubz''-style pita is referred to as {{Transliteration|el|aravikí pita}} ({{lang|el|αραβική πίτα}}, {{lit|Arabic pastry}}).