Confetti

confetti in English, means little paper shapes thrown over the bride and groom at weddings. It is the plural of confetto, an Italian word indicating sweets known as dragées in French and formerly as comfits in English. By the 19th century the Italian meaning of confetti extended to small plaster balls or paper shapes thrown at carnival. Under the Italian name, the paper shapes replaced rice which was then customarily thrown at English weddings. Although the primary sense of sweets has been retained in Italian along with the newer meaning, all notion of edibility has vanished from English usage.