busecca

Forms

busecca f (plural busecche)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Lombard büseca, the Milan word, a northern form of busecchia (“gut”).^[2][3][4][1] Its origin is uncertain.^[5][1]

Nocentini traces the Tuscan word to Vulgar Latin *vesīcula, a diminutive of Latin vēsīca (“bladder”), with ⟨b⟩ for ⟨v⟩ and the ⟨u⟩ assimilated to the labial, as in an Aretine word for the bladder.^[6] Prati first made that comparison.^[6][7] Wiktionary gives the same proposal.^[1] Zingarelli and GRADIT connect it instead with buzzo (“belly, paunch”).^[8][2] Pellegrini proposed an origin in a colloquial Arabic word for “paunch”, but Nocentini finds the Italian comparisons enough.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Milanese poet Bonvesin de la Riva has buseche “guts” in the 13th century, and the Tacuinum sanitatis of the same century has busecha “tripe”.^[6][9][7] As an Italian word busecca is dated 1554 by Zingarelli and before 1561 by GRADIT, with the sense “tripe”.^[8][2]

Semantic evolution

Oudin's French dictionary of the 17th century glosses buezècchie as tripe in Milan.^[7] The word names both the tripe of cattle and the Milanese soup made from it, with beans and vegetables, often served with croutons.^[2][10][4]

From it the Milanese were nicknamed busecconi, tripe-eaters.^[7]

Timeline

• 13th century – Bonvesin de la Riva writes buseche “guts” in Milanese.^[6][9]
• 13th century – Busecha “tripe” appears in the Tacuinum sanitatis.^[7]
• 1554 – Busecca is recorded.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (regional, Milan) Tripe, the stomach of slaughtered cattle.^{[2][10][3][1]}
2. (regional, Milan) A soup of veal tripe with beans and vegetables, typical of Milanese cooking.^[2][3][8][4]

Related words

• busecchia
• trippa
• vescica
• buzzo
• Lombard büseca

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
6. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 195
8. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier