facchino

Uncertain, but several theories have been proposed:

• It may derive from Sicilian facchinu (“jurist called upon to settle disputes related to customs”), ultimately from Arabic فَقِيه (faqīh, “theologian, jurisconsult, faqih”). According to this theory, the word originally referred to a customs official. During the economic crises of the 14th and 15th centuries in the Arab world, these officials were forced to make a living by selling textiles, which they carried on their shoulders from market to market—thus leading to the modern meaning of “porter”.
• Alternatively, it may come from Venetan fachin, a popular term once used for Bergamasque people derived from the Germanic given name Lanfranco (see also Lanfranchi). This theory proposes that the term became associated with porters because manual labourers in Venice were often from Bergamo. Also found in Dalmatian as facain.

• IPA^(key): /fakˈki.no/
• Rhymes: -ino
• Hyphenation: fac‧chì‧no

facchino m (plural facchini, feminine facchina)

1. porter, bellboy (person who carries luggage)

   Synonyms: portabagagli m or f by sense, (obsolete) bastagio m

2. (by extension, derogatory) a rough, indelicate, or trivial person

   Synonyms: maleducato m, maleducata f, screanzato m, screanzata f, villano m, villana f

3. a sponge crab or sleepy crab, of species Dromia personata

• →? French: faquin
  • → Spanish: faquín
• → Maltese: fakkin (“greengrocer”)
• → Serbo-Croatian: fàkīn (“scoundrel, bad boy”)

• Henriette Walter (1994) L'Aventure des langues en occident, Paris: Éditions Robert Laffont, →ISBN
• T. C. Donkin (1864) An Etymological Dictionary of the Romance Languages, London: Williams and Norgate
• facchino in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
• Alessandro Parenti (2019) “Un'altra storia per ‘facchino’”, in Lingua nostra‎^[1], number 80