What does pastie mean?
A pastie is a pie whose filling is enclosed in a firm pastry crust. Its typical fillings include beef, steak, vegetables, cheese, and combinations of these, and the best-known association is with the Cornish pastie, a portable meal traditionally made with beef and onion. The word is chiefly British and is sometimes treated as a less formal alternative to meat pie or pastry. In some older or regional usage, a pastie can also mean a small money bag or pouch. In everyday modern British use, however, the food sense is dominant. The word is especially useful when precision matters because a pie describes the general form of the dish, whereas a pastie more strongly suggests a sealed pastry parcel, often one intended to be eaten while travelling or working outdoors.
A pie with a filling enclosed in pastry, often meat, vegetables, or cheese.
"We ate warm pasties beside the harbour."
Chiefly British; especially associated with Cornish pasties.
A small bag or pouch, especially one used for carrying money.
"The old woman kept her savings in a leather pastie."
A regional or archaic sense that is uncommon in modern usage.
The standard plural is pasties.
"The stall was packed with pasties, sausage rolls, and pies."
The famous Cornish pastie takes its name from Cornwall, where sturdy pastry parcels traditionally carried substantial fillings for workers and travellers.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pastie come from?
The word is a regional form associated with the more widely attested pasty. Both belong to a family connected with paste and pastry, ultimately from Latin pasta, meaning a paste or dough. English borrowed the culinary sense through French pastry usage, while the form pastie became especially familiar in Cornish and other British regional cooking.
How pastie is actually used
The word is chiefly British and is strongly associated with Cornish pasties. Outside Britain, it may sound regional or informal, and the alternative bag or pouch sense is now uncommon.
Easily confused with pastie
A pastie is usually a filled pie enclosed in pastry, while pasty most commonly means doughy or covered in paste and can also be used as a variant name for a pie.