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:
“Fight on for Scottland and Saint Andrew
Till you heare my whistle blowe.”
—Unknown. Sir Andrew Barton.
EnSB. English and Scottish Ballads (The Poetry Bookshelf)
“Over, over, there is a soft place in my heart for all that is over, no, for the being over, words have been my only loves, not many.”
—Samuel Beckett (19061989)
“I was happy there,
part Venetian vase,
part Swiss watch, part Indian head.”
—Anne Sexton (19281974)
“For, though the origin of most of our words is forgotten, each word was at first a stroke of genius, and obtained currency, because for the moment it symbolized the world to the first speaker and to the hearer. The etymologist finds the deadest word to have been once a brilliant picture.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882)