Whenever I hear talking talking about a "pizza peel," I always assume the term peel comes from the French pelle, which means "shovel." From there, I've always assumed that the American peel was just a mispronunciation of pelle, and that "pizza peel" is actually spelled "pizza pelle." Wrong! Americans, in all sooth, spell it "peel." Go figure. Were I a linguist, I might be interested in tracking down the history of the word. But I'm not, so I won't.
From etymonline.com:
"wooden shovel with a broad blade and a long handle," used by bakers, etc., late 14c.. pele, from Old French pele (Modern French pelle) "shovel," from Latin pala "spade, shovel, baker's peel, shoulder blade," related to pangere "to insert firmly," probably from PIE *pag-slo-, suffixed form of root *pag- "to fasten."
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