Italian words from Ligurian
7 Italian words with Ligurian in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
acciuga
It is borrowed from Ligurian anciôa, the Genoese word, from Vulgar Latin *apiuva, from Latin aphyē (“small fish”), from Ancient Greek ἀφύη (aphúē, “small fry; anchovy”), itself of uncertain origin…
cavo
1. The adjective “hollow” is inherited from Latin cavus (“hollow, concave”), and the noun sense continues its neuter cavum (“hollow, hole”). The same word is Occitan cau and Catalan cau (“rabbit…
ciurma
It is borrowed from Ligurian ciüsma, the Old Genoese form, recorded at the start of the 14th century. The Genoese word goes back to Vulgar Latin *clusma, a reduced form of Latin celeusma (“the…
prua
It is a dialect outcome of Latin prōra (“prow”), with the second /r/ lost by dissimilation. Nocentini and the Devoto–Oli take it as borrowed from Ligurian prua, and Devoto and Merlo also held it to…
rezzaglio
According to DEI, Treccani and GDLI the Tuscan word is borrowed from Ligurian resaggiu, the Genoese form, which is from Late Latin retiācŭlum (“casting net”), a diminutive of rēte (“net”). Nocentini…
scoglio
It is borrowed from Ligurian scogiu, the Genoese word, adapted to Tuscan. This continues Vulgar Latin *scoculum, a form of Latin scopulus (“rock, cliff”) with /k/ for /p/. Why the /p/ changed is…
serpa
For Nocentini it is borrowed from Ligurian serpa (“coach box”), the Genoese word, from Vulgar Latin *scirpa, which stands for the classical form Latin scirpea (“large basket; transport crate”), from…