Which etymologist linked Catalan paella to Old French paelle?

The etymologist who linked Catalan paella to Old French paelle was Joan Coromines.

Coromines, also written Joan Corominas in some Spanish-language references, was a major Catalan and Romance-language linguist. His proposed chain connects Catalan paella with Old French paelle, meaning a pan or frying pan, and ultimately with the Latin patella, a shallow dish or pan.

This explanation concerns the word’s history, not the invention of the rice dish. In Valencian, paella originally referred to the broad metal pan in which the rice was cooked; the dish acquired the same name through the cooking vessel. English usage later adopted “paella” primarily for the food.

The etymology is sometimes confused with a popular theory connecting paella to an Arabic word meaning “leftovers.” That alternative story is frequently repeated, but the timing of the word’s attestation and the Romance-language evidence have made the Latin-and-Old-French explanation more influential in scholarly discussions. Coromines’s work is especially significant because he specialized in documenting Catalan vocabulary and its historical development.