prosciutto

Forms

prosciutto m (plural prosciutti)^[1]

Etymology

For most dictionaries it is formed from Italian pro- + asciutto (“dry”), the prefix replacing the ⟨a-⟩ of the adjective.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]} For Nocentini it is inherited from Vulgar Latin *perexsuctus (“thoroughly dried”), the past participle, used as a noun, of *perexsūcō (“to dry out”), the source of prosciugare.^[9] Meyer-Lübke likewise derives the noun from that verb, and DEI and the TLIO from Latin prae (“before”) and exsūctus (“sucked out, dried”), the past participle of exsūgō (“to suck out”).^{[10][11][12][13]} Devoto saw the standard form as a blend of the older presciutto with prosciugato, and Etymonline also explains the ⟨o⟩ by the influence of the participle.^[14][13]

The Romance cognate the sources name is Portuguese presunto, which DEI and Meyer-Lübke see as reshaped under the influence of the word for fat, unto and Latin unctum.^[11][10][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Medieval Latin presuctu and presutium are recorded in the Cicolano, in Abruzzo, in the 13th century.^[2] The TLIO's first vernacular record is the Anonimo Genovese, before 1311, with the forms persuti and presuti, in the sense of a leg of pork salted and dried.^[12] DELI's first record of prosciutto itself is the Tavola Ritonda in the 14th century, where King Meliadus gives a feast of roast meat, prosciutto, cheese and well-salted pies.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

The word has many regional forms: Tuscan presciutto and Lucchese presutto, Venetian persuto (1560), Lombard persüt, Abruzzese presuttu and Sicilian and Calabrian prisuttu.^[11][10] Meyer-Lübke thought the Lombard form came from Tuscany, and left the southern forms with ⟨s⟩ unexplained.^[10] The ham itself came to be divided into prosciutto crudo, salted and aged, and prosciutto cotto, brined and cooked, and the hams of protected areas such as Parma and San Daniele are called tipici.^[4][7]

The phrase avere gli occhi foderati di prosciutto was first said of someone with inflamed, everted eyelids, and the version with ears grew out of it.^[2][9] In women's fashion the manica a prosciutto is a sleeve puffed at the shoulder and narrow at the wrist.^[7][5]

English took the word as prosciutto in 1855, and the tautological prosciutto ham is recorded from 1932.^[15] In the United States it means only the raw cured ham.^[15] Etymonline dates the English word to 1911.^[13]

Timeline

• 13th century – Medieval Latin presuctu and presutium are recorded in the Cicolano.^[2]
• Before 1311 – The Anonimo Genovese has persuti and presuti.^[12]
• 14th century – The Tavola Ritonda has prosciutto.^[2][8]
• 1560 – Venetian persuto is recorded in Magagnò.^[11]
• 1855 – English prosciutto is first recorded.^[15]
• 1932 – English prosciutto ham is recorded.^[15]

Meanings

Noun

1. ham: the hind leg of a pig, salted, dried and aged (prosciutto crudo) or boned, brined and cooked (prosciutto cotto), usually eaten in thin slices.^[3][4][5]
2. Prosciutto di spalla: pork shoulder cured in the same way.^[3][16]
3. A similar product made from the leg of another animal: prosciutto di cinghiale, wild boar ham.^[3][5][6]
4. (cooking) A fresh leg of pork, roasted or braised whole or in pieces.^[3][7]
5. (fashion) Manica a prosciutto, a leg-of-mutton sleeve, full at the shoulder and narrow at the wrist.^[3][5][7]

Word family

• prosciuttino
• prosciuttificio
• prosciuttare
• improsciuttire

Related words

• asciutto
• prosciugare
• Portuguese presunto
• Latin exsūgō

Usage notes

Avere gli occhi foderati di prosciutto is to fail to see the obvious, and avere le orecchie foderate di prosciutto to not hear, or not want to hear.^[3][16][17] Levarsi la sete col prosciutto is to try a remedy that makes things worse.^[4][17] Tuscan popular speech has presciutto, and northern Italy persutto.^[4][17][6]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
8. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 691
9. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c d Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3110
12. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
13. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
14. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
15. ^ a b c d Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
16. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
17. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli