What does vongole mean?
Vongole is an English noun denoting an edible clam, particularly the hard-shelled kind familiar from Italian cooking. The word is normally plural in English and is especially associated with pasta dishes, soups, seafood platters, and Italian restaurants. A typical serving might be linguine with vongole cooked in garlic, white wine, and herbs. Although it appears in general English dictionaries, it remains a relatively specialized and noticeably Italianate word; in most contexts, “clams” would be the more familiar synonym. Vongole has an unusual grammatical history: English borrowed the Italian plural vongole, whose corresponding singular is vongola. The regular English plural vongoles is also used, but the original plural form is especially established in culinary language. Knowing the word therefore adds both a useful vocabulary item and a glimpse of how English retains foreign grammatical forms when they fit a particular subject or cultural setting.
nounAn edible clam, especially the hard-shelled kind commonly used in Italian cooking. In English, the word is normally used as a plural.
- An edible clam, especially the hard-shelled clam commonly used in Italian cooking.
"The linguine was served with vongole in a light white-wine sauce."
"We shared a platter of grilled vongole with lemon and parsley."
"The recipe calls for fresh vongole, garlic, white wine, and linguine."
The regular English plural is “vongoles,” although “vongole” is also widely used as an invariant plural, especially in culinary contexts. The Italian singular is “vongola.”
"Fresh vongoles are available at the fish market every morning."
Vongole arrives wearing its plural: its Italian singular is vongola, but English cooks usually write vongole on the menu.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of vongole
English borrowed the Italian plural vongole, corresponding to the Italian singular vongola. Italian vongola developed through the late Latin form conchula, derived from Latin conchylium; this belongs to the classical vocabulary of shells and shellfish associated with Greek kókhē. Related words such as conch and conchology descend from the same broader Greek and Latin shell vocabulary.
How vongole is actually used
Primarily culinary and Italianate in register. Outside food, restaurant, or market contexts, “clams” is the more idiomatic ordinary English term.
Easily confused with vongole
Vongola is the Italian singular, whereas vongole is the Italian plural and the form normally retained in English.