My brother-in-law pointed out in the comments that in the Middle East, “muffuletta” doesn’t mean a submarine-like sandwich on a big round roll, but a butter-and-honey-filled pastry roll eaten in Morocco to celebrate the end of Passover, and most commonly called “mufleta.” Are these related? The dictionary gives the etymology of “muffuletta” as coming from the Italian muffa, or mold, “probably of Germanic origin.” As for “mufleta” I can only guess. Mrs. Q says that the similar-sounding “pela” means wonder — so could a mufleta be a wondrous sandwich, celebrating the Israelites’ narrow escape?
One must be careful about speculative etymologies, especially when sandwiches are involved. For instance, the use of “hero” to mean a “heroically large sandwich” dates back to 1937 and is apparently unrelated to the much later-to-arrive “gyro,” contrary to what I’d always imagined.
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