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 rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road.
A reeling road, a rolling road, that rambles round the shire.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
“We could not help contrasting the equanimity of Nature with the bustle and impatience of man. His words and actions presume always a crisis near at hand, but she is forever silent and unpretending.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I was happy there,
part Venetian vase,
part Swiss watch, part Indian head.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“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 (1803–1882)