Etymologically
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ossobuco

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Pronunciation

  • /ˌɔs.soˈbu.ko/[1]

Forms

ossobuco m (plural ossibuchi)[1] It is also written as two words, osso buco, with the plural ossi buchi.[2][3][1] Treccani also notes the rarer plural ossobuchi.[3]

Etymology

It is from Italian osso (“bone”) + buco (“hole”), adapted from Lombard òs büs (“bored bone”) of Milan.[4][5][2][6][1] The name refers to the round slice of shank bone with its hollow full of marrow at the centre of each cut.[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI and GRADIT date the word to Iginio Ugo Tarchetti, who died in 1869, and Sabatini–Coletti has 1853.[9][5][10] GDLI quotes Tarchetti's remark that the Milanese, besides being good citizens who love Italy, also love risotto and osso buco.[7] The sense is already the cut of veal shank cooked as a dish.[7][9]

Semantic evolution

The word spread with Milanese cooking: GDLI quotes Emilio De Marchi's character going to lunch on an osso buco with spaghetti, and Marino Moretti setting ossobuco and the buttery cutlet against the Florentine steak.[7] Panzini's dictionary still printed it as two words in 1905 and as one in the edition of 1918.[9]

The cut and the dish have kept the same name: ossibuchi alla milanese are braised and seasoned with a mixture of parsley, garlic and lemon peel, or with a white-wine sauce, sometimes with tomato.[5][6] English has osso buco from 1934 and French from 1954.[11]

Timeline

  • 1853 – Sabatini–Coletti's date for the first record.[10]
  • Before 1869 – Iginio Ugo Tarchetti writes of the Milanese love of osso buco.[9][7]
  • 1905 – Panzini's dictionary lists osso buco in two words.[9]
  • 1918 – A later edition of Panzini spells it ossobuco.[9]
  • 1934 – English osso buco is first recorded.[11]
  • 1954 – French osso buco is first recorded.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A cut of veal from the middle of the shank, a cross-section of the shin bone with its marrow and the meat around it.[5][2][10]
  2. (cooking) The Milanese dish made from this cut, slowly braised: A pranzo abbiamo ordinato l'ossobuco col risotto giallo.[2][10][3]
  3. (by extension) A marrowbone.[1]
  • osso
  • buco

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  4. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 12, 237
  8. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  9. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it