A dry pasta, usually made of durum wheat, macaroni is a popular noodle shaped in short, narrow tubes. Elbow macaroni, curved like a bent arm, is the most recognized type, but there are others like the corkscrew shaped cavatappi. the short ditalini, and the straight maccheroni. The word "macaroni" is derived from the ancient Greek words makarōneia, macaria, and maccare.