Confetti the end of the 19th century, using symbolic shreds of coloured paper rather than real sweets. Confetti Confetti are small pieces or streamers of paper, mylar, or metallic material which are usually thrown at celebrations, especially parades and weddings. The origins are from the Latin "confectum", with "confetti" the plural of Italian "confetto", small sweet. Modern paper confetti trace back to symbolic rituals of tossing grains and sweets during special occasions, traditional for numerous cultures throughout history as an ancient custom dating back to pagan times, but adapted from sweets and grains to paper through the centuries. Confetti are made
English words of Greek origin borrowed both by Old English and by French from Latin "platea", itself borrowed from Greek πλατεία (ὁδός) 'broad (street)'; the Italian "piazza" and Spanish "plaza" have the same origin, and have been borrowed into English in parallel. The word "olive" comes through the Romance from the Latin word "olīva", which in turn comes from the Greek ("elaíwā"). A later Greek word, ("boútȳron") becomes Latin "butyrum" and eventually English 'butter'. A large group of early borrowings, again transmitted first through Latin, then through various vernaculars, comes from Christian vocabulary: "chair" « καθέδρα ("cf." 'cathedra'), "bishop" « ἐπίσκοπος ("epískopos" 'overseer'), "priest" «