Etymology. As nouns the difference between cannolo and cannoli is that cannolo is while cannoli is tubes of fried pasta, filled with ricotta or similar cream cheese, and flavorings, eaten as a dessert; typical of sicily. Cannolo is a diminutive of canna, 'cane' or 'tube'.. In Italian, cannoli is grammatically plural; the corresponding singular is cannolo ([kanˈnɔːlo], Sicilian: cannolu), meaning "little tube".In English, cannoli is usually used as a singular, and cannolo is rare.. History.