English Words of Venetian Origin
| Venetian source | English loanword | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| arsenàl | arsenal | via Italian; from Arabic dār aṣ-ṣināʿah 'house of work/skills, factory' |
| artichioco | artichoke | from Arabic al-haršūf |
| balota | ballot | 'ball' used in Venetian elections |
| casin | casino | borrowed in Italianized form |
| sc'iao | ciao | used originally in Venetian to mean 'your servant', 'at your service' |
| contrabando | contraband | |
| gazeta | gazette | 'small Venetian coin'; from the phrase gazeta de la novità 'a penny worth of news' |
| g(h)eto | ghetto | |
| ziro | giro | 'circle, turn, spin'; borrowed in Italianized form; from the name of the bank Banco del Ziro |
| gnoco, -chi | gnocchi | 'lump, bump, gnocchi'; from Germanic *knokk- 'knuckle, joint' |
| gondola | gondola | |
| laguna | lagoon | |
| lazareto | Lazaretto, lazaret | |
| Lido | lido | |
| lo(t)to | lotto | from Germanic *lot- 'destiny, fate' |
| malvasia | malmsey | |
| marzapan | marzipan | from Arabic martabān, the name for the porcelain container in which marzipan was transported, from Mataban in the Bay of Bengal where these were made (this is one of several proposed etymologies for the English word) |
| negroponte | Negroponte | Greek Island called Eubea or Evia in the Aegean Sea |
| Montenegro | Montenegro | 'black mountain' Country on the Eastern side of the Adriatic Sea |
| Pantalon | pantaloon | a character in the Commedia dell'arte |
| pestacio/pistacio | pistachio | ultimately from Middle Persian *pistak |
| quarantena | quarantine | |
| regata | regatta | originally 'fight, contest' |
| scampo, -i | scampi | from Greek κάμπη 'caterpillar', lit. 'curved (animal)' |
| zechin | sequin | 'Venetian gold ducat'; from Arabic sikkah 'coin, minting die' |
| Zanni | zany | a character in the Commedia dell'arte |
| zero | zero | via French zéro; ultimately from Arabic ṣifr 'zero, nothing' |
Read more about this topic: Venetian Language
Famous quotes containing the words english, words, venetian and/or origin:
“He is, I think, already pondering a magisterial project: that of buggering the English language, the ultimate revenge of the colonialised.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)
“Your words and my words are the same, but not our meaning.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“I was happy there,
part Venetian vase,
part Swiss watch, part Indian head.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“Someone had literally run to earth
In an old cellar hole in a byroad
The origin of all the family there.
Thence they were sprung, so numerous a tribe
That now not all the houses left in town
Made shift to shelter them without the help
Of here and there a tent in grove and orchard.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
Related Phrases
Related Words