turta

Meaning

a type of pastry

Pronounced as (IPA)

[ˈtʊr.ta]

Etymology

Of obscure origin.
First attested in the Vindolanda Tablets. Before the tablets were discovered, the Romance forms were assumed to have derived from Latin tŏrta f (“twisted”), which is also found as a noun in Late Latin (referring to a type of pastry). However, it was recognized even then that a derivation from tŏrta required assuming an unusual development of Latin ŏ.
Compare Ancient Greek τούρτα (toúrta, “cake of dates, flour, water, and oil baked covered in ashes”), which Watkins claims is from Egyptian t-rtḥ (“baked bread”), though it could have instead been borrowed from the Latin.