scotto

scotto¹ bill for a meal

Pronunciation

• /ˈskɔt.to/^[1]

Forms

scotto m (plural scotti)^[1]

Etymology

The word for the bill at an inn is borrowed from Frankish *skot (“tax”), according to DELI, Devoto, GRADIT, Sabatini–Coletti and Zingarelli.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} Nocentini and Prati see it as a Germanic word that came into Italian through the other Romance languages, from Old French escot (“bill, share”), modern French écot, which has the same form in Old Occitan escot and Catalan escot and was borrowed as Spanish escote and Portuguese escote.^{[8][9][7][10]} Nocentini compares German Schoss (“tax, tribute”) and English shot (“a bill at an inn”).^[8]

Wiktionary gives the Frankish form as *skott or *skatt, from Proto-Germanic *skattaz (“wealth; money”), and compares Schatz (“treasure”).^[1] Zaccaria traced the Romance words to Medieval Latin scotum (“tax, tribute”), frequent in charters from Germanic countries from the 11th century on, which he took from Old English sceot; in his view the word reached the Romance languages only in the later Middle Ages, not with the Germanic migrations.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, dated 1300 by DELI, is in a Florentine document published among the Nuovi testi fiorentini, with the sense “bill, the cost of lodging”.^[2] GRADIT dates the word more broadly to the 13th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century the word meant the price paid for something, the payment for a meal at a tavern, the meal itself and payment in general.^[9] Pilgrims, writes Villani, would leave the money for their scotto on the tables and go on their way (lasciavano i danari del loro scotto sopra le mense).^[12][13] Dante uses it figuratively for the price paid in repentance (senza alcuno scotto / di pentimento).^[5]

The phrase pagare lo scotto, first “to pay the bill at the inn”, came to mean “to pay the penalty, to bear the consequences” from the 14th century, and Jacopone has pagar lo scottone in a rhyme.^[9][8] Ariosto still uses the literal sense: a servant fears he alone will be left to pay the bill (restar dubito / io sol che paghi lo scotto).^[4][12] An old phrase tenere qualcuno a scotto meant to keep someone as a boarder.^[6] Today the noun survives almost only in pagare lo scotto.^[14][5]

Timeline

• 1300 – Scotto “bill, cost of lodging” is recorded in a Florentine document.^[2]
• 14th century – Pagare lo scotto “to pay the penalty” is in use.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (archaic, literary) The price paid for a meal or for lodging at an inn or tavern.^{[4][5][14][1]}
2. (archaic) A meal eaten at an inn.^[4][6][1]
3. (figurative, literary) Recompense, return.^[4][5][1]
4. In pagare lo scotto: to pay the penalty for something, to suffer its consequences: Ha pagato lo scotto della sua fretta.^{[5][6][14][8]}

scotto² overcooked

Pronunciation

• /ˈskɔt.to/^[1]

Forms

scotto (feminine scotta, masculine plural scotti, feminine plural scotte)^[1]

Etymology

The word for overcooked food is from Italian scuocere (“to overcook”): its past participle, as Nocentini, GRADIT, Sabatini–Coletti and Zingarelli explain it.^[8][4][5][6] Devoto–Oli, Treccani and Wiktionary trace it instead to Latin excoctus, the past participle of excoquō (“to boil; to cook too long”).^[15][14][1]

The verb is formed with the intensive prefix s- on cuocere, but DELI holds that it reached the standard language from Sicilian scociri.^[2][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the adjective to 1934, with the sense “cooked too long”.^[8][15] In 1950 Migliorini's appendix to the Panzini dictionary recorded scuocersi and pasta scotta as words of central and southern Italy.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The adjective is said above all of pasta, rice and vegetables.^[14] Gadda wrote that a Milanese risotto must not be scotto, only a little more than al dente (Il risotto alla milanese non dev'essere scotto), and in 1947 the newspaper Avanti! described the nerve-racking wait for overcooked pasta.^[12]

Timeline

• 1934 – First record of the adjective.^[8][15]
• 1947 – Pasta asciutta scotta appears in the newspaper Avanti!.^[12]
• 1950 – Migliorini records pasta scotta as central and southern Italian.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. overcooked, cooked too long, said especially of pasta and rice: Abbiamo parlato troppo e i tortiglioni sono scotti.^{[4][15][5][14][1]}