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What does "cannelloni" mean? "Canne" means reeds, I think. It seems to be a compound of two words or an adjective added to the word.

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  • But in Italy "cannellino" is meaning some different things: a type of beans white and creamy, largely used in Tuscany, and a white wine with very fresh and good taste produced near Rome (e.g. "Cannellino di Frascati").
    – Piero
    Oct 14, 2019 at 7:21

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The word itself denote a type of pasta (as per the previous answer).

It is not a compound word, but a word "mutated" with the suffix "-one" which in Italian is referred as "accrescitivo" (augmentative). I take here the definition from Treccani

  1. s. m. a. In grammatica, derivazione morfologica di un nome (sostantivo o, meno spesso, aggettivo), per indicarne un accrescimento quantitativo o qualitativo. Si forma di regola con il suffisso -óne (f. -óna)

On grammar, morphological derivation of a noun (or less frequently, an adjective) to denote an augmentation, on quantity or quality. Usually formed with the suffix -óne (feminine: -óna)

For example: ragazzo -> ragazzone (boy -> big boy).

As "cannello" in Italian can indicate something cylindrical - in fact, it derives from canna which can have the same generic meaning:

  1. Tubo o canale di varia grandezza e di qualunque materia:

Tube or pipe with various sizes and of any material

the name of this pasta literally means "big tube" or "big pipe" because of its shape.

Other suffixes with different purposes are:

diminutive (diminutive): -ino, -etto (feminine: -ina, -etta)

e.g. ragazzino, ragazzetto -> little boy

vezzeggiativo (term of endearment) -ello, -etto, -uccio (feminine: -ella, -etta, -uccia)

e.g. cavalluccio -> cute pony

peggiorativo -accio (feminine: -accia)

e.g. ragazzaccio -> nasty boy

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  • You might want to mention that cannello itself is derived from canna.
    – DaG
    Oct 13, 2019 at 16:57
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    @Dag answer edited Oct 13, 2019 at 17:05

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