Fusilli is a long, thick, corkscrew shaped pasta. The word fusilli presumably comes from fusile, archaic or dialectal word for "rifle" (fucile in modern Italian), referring to the spiral-grooved barrel of the latter. The word can also mean "little spindles" in standard Italian. Green and red varieties of fusilli (or any pasta) are created by using spinach or beet juice, respectively, instead of water. There are also whole wheat versions of fusilli available. Fusilli is not to be confused with the short, flattened, twisted pasta known as rotini.