pasta in the form of tubes cut diagonally, by 1981, from Italian penne (1875), an extended use of the plural of penna, literally "quill," from Latin penna (see pen (n.1)). So called because the oblique cut resembles the writing tip of a quill pen.
penknife
*penkwe-
penman
penmanship
pennant
penne
penniless
pennon
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvanian
penny