italian | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

1693 entries found.

older and unaltered form of mandrake (q.v.). It corresponds to the Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese forms.

1727, from French fracas "crash, sudden noise; tumult, bustle, fuss" (15c.), from Italian fracasso "uproar, crash," back-formation from fracassare "to smash, crash, break in pieces," from fra-, a shortening of Latin infra "below" (see infra-) + Italian cassare "to break," from Latin quassare "to shake" (see quash).

recitative (n.)

"style of musical declamation intermediate between speech and singing, form of song resembling declamation," 1650s, from Italian recitativo, from recitato, past participle of recitare, from Latin recitare "read out, read aloud" (see recite). From 1640s as an adjective. The Italian form of the word was used in English from 1610s.

colonel (n.)

"chief commander of a regiment of troops," 1540s, coronell, from French coronel (16c.), modified by dissimilation from Italian colonnella "commander of the column of soldiers at the head of a regiment," from compagna colonella "little column company," from Latin columna "pillar," collateral form of columen "top, summit" (from PIE root *kel- (2) "to be prominent; hill").

The French spelling was reformed late 16c. English spelling was modified 1580s in learned writing to conform with the Italian form (via translations of Italian military manuals), and pronunciations with "r" and "l" coexisted until c. 1650, but the earlier pronunciation prevailed. Spanish and Portuguese coronel, from Italian, show similar evolution by dissimilation and perhaps by influence of corona. Abbreviation col. is attested by 1707.

al fresco (adv.)

also alfresco, 1753, Italian, literally "in the fresh (air)." Italian al represents a contraction of words from Latin ad "to" (see ad-) + ille "that" (see le). Alfresco also meant "painted on plaster that was still fresh or moist" (1764; see fresco).

Amaretto

Italian almond-flavored liqueur, 1945 (the original brand, Amaretto di Saronno, dates to 1851), from the Italian word for almond (q.v.), which did not acquire the unetymological -l- of the English word. Sometimes confused with amoretto. Amoroso (literally "lover"), a type of sweetened sherry, is attested from c. 1870.

petechia (n.)

plural petechiae, "small crimson or purple spots on skin," c. 1795 (from 1580s in English texts as an Italian word), Modern Latin, from Italian petecchia "specks or freckles on the face," in plural form petecchie "measles," a word of unknown origin. Related: Petechial.

bunco (n.)

also bunko, type of confidence swindle, 1872, perhaps from Italian banco "bank."

Olivia

fem. proper name, from Italian Olivia, from Latin oliva "olive" (see olive).

goombah (n.)

by 1984, from dialectal pronunciation of Italian compare "companion, godfather" (compare compadre).

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