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:
“Where dwells the religion? Tell me first where dwells electricity, or motion, or thought or gesture. They do not dwell or stay at all. Electricity cannot be made fast, mortared up and ended, like London Monument, or the Tower, so that you shall know where to find it, and keep it fixed, as the English do with their things, forevermore; it is passing, glancing, gesticular; it is a traveller, a newness, a surprise, a secret which perplexes them, and puts them out.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882)
“All our words from loose using have lost their edge.”
—Ernest Hemingway (18991961)
“I was happy there,
part Venetian vase,
part Swiss watch, part Indian head.”
—Anne Sexton (19281974)
“We have got rid of the fetish of the divine right of kings, and that slavery is of divine origin and authority. But the divine right of property has taken its place. The tendency plainly is towards ... a government of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (18221893)