Advertisement
Vespa (n.)1950, proprietary name of an Italian make of motor scooter, first produced 1946, from Italian, literally "wasp," from Latin vespa (see wasp). Rival brand was Lambretta.
Related entries & more Advertisement
Guido masc. proper name, Italian, literally "leader," of Germanic origin (see guide (v.)). As a type of gaudy machoism often associated with Italian-Americans, 1980s, teen slang, from the name of character in Hollywood film "Risky Business" (1983).
Related entries & more Cosa Nostra
Related entries & more 1963, "the Mafia in America," Italian, literally "this thing of ours."
Colombia
Related entries & more South American nation, independent from 1819 as part of Gran Colombia (after its breakup in 1830, known as New Granada, then Colombia from 1863); named for Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (Italian Colombo, Portuguese Colom, Spanish Colón). Related: Colombian.
Advertisement
Della Crusca
Related entries & more 1796, from Italian Accademia della Crusca, literally "Academy of the Chaff," "the name of an Academy established at Florence in 1582, mainly with the object of sifting and purifying the Italian language; whence its name, and its emblem, a sieve" [OED]. From della "of the" (from Latin de "of" + illa "that") + crusca "bran." Related: Della-Cruscan.
Florence chief city of Tuscany, also a fem. proper name, both from Latin Florentia, fem. of Florentius, literally "blooming," from florens (genitive florentis), present participle of florere "to flower" (see flourish). The city name is from Roman Colonia Florentia, "flowering colony," either literal or figurative, and became Old Italian Fiorenze, modern Italian Firenze.
Related entries & more Boccaccio the name means "big-mouth" in Italian, from boccaccia, augmentative of bocca "mouth" (see bouche).
Related entries & more Celia fem. proper name, from Italian Celia, from Latin Caelia, fem. of Caelius, name of a Roman gens. Sheila is a variant.
Related entries & more Venice (Italian Venezia, German Venedig), from Medieval Latin Venetia, from Veneti (Greek Ouenetoi), name of an ancient people of Illyrian origin.
Related entries & more Advertisement
