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:
“The bright old day now dawns again; the cry runs through the the land,
In England there shall be dear breadin Ireland, sword and brand;
And poverty, and ignorance, shall swell the rich and grand,
So, rally round the rulers with the gentle iron hand,
Of the fine old English Tory days;
Hail to the coming time!”
—Charles Dickens (18121870)
“Mothers who have little sense of their own minds and voices are unable to imagine such capacities in their children. Not being fully aware of the power of words for communicating meaning, they expect their children to know what is on their minds without the benefit of words. These parents do not tell their children what they mean by good much less why. Nor do they ask the children to explain themselves.”
—Mary Field Belenky (20th century)
“I was happy there,
part Venetian vase,
part Swiss watch, part Indian head.”
—Anne Sexton (19281974)
“Our theism is the purification of the human mind. Man can paint, or make, or think nothing but man. He believes that the great material elements had their origin from his thought.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882)