mandoline
UK[ˈmændəliːn]US[ˈmændəliːn]
n
A kitchen utensil with a flat frame and adjustable blades, used for slicing vegetables, cheese, etc., very thinly or into julienne strips.
Morpheme Breakdown
mandolin
e
mandolin
e
Etymology
The word 'mandoline' for a kitchen slicer is a metaphorical borrowing from the world of music. It derives from the Italian 'mandolino', the name for a small, stringed musical instrument. The connection lies in the visual and functional resemblance: the kitchen tool's adjustable blades and the strings of the instrument, and the action of drawing the vegetable across the blade mimicking the plucking of strings. The final 'e' in the English spelling reflects its adoption via French, distinguishing it slightly from the purely musical term 'mandolin', though both refer to the same slicing tool.
Analysis
Structure: mandolin + e
mandolin: From Italian 'mandolino', a diminutive of 'mandola', a type of lute, ultimately from Late Greek 'pandoura', a three-stringed lute.
e: A common spelling variant in English, often used to indicate a French origin or a feminine form, but in this case, it is part of the adopted spelling of the word.
Examples
She used a mandoline to create perfectly even potato slices for the gratin.
Always use the safety guard when operating a mandoline to avoid cutting your fingers.
The recipe calls for cucumbers julienned with a mandoline.