ghezzo

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Byzantine Greek Αἰγύπτιος (Aigúptios, Egyptian), apparently early enough for the Greek υ to have still been pronounced /ø/ or /e/ yet late enough for the borrowing to escape the Romance palatalisation of velars before front vowels.[1] Compare gheppio < αἰγυπιός (aigupiós). Documented in Italian since 1282.[2] Doublet of egizio.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡet.t͡so/
  • Rhymes: -ettso
  • Hyphenation: ghéz‧zo

Adjective

ghezzo (feminine ghezza, masculine plural ghezzi, feminine plural ghezze) (archaic)

  1. dark-skinned (especially said of Moors)

Noun

ghezzo m (plural ghezzi, feminine ghezza)

  1. (regional) a species of crow
  2. (regional) a species of porcini-type mushroom

References

  • ghézzo in sapere.it – De Agostini Editore
  • ghezzo in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
  1. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm. 1890. Grammaire des langues romanes, vol. I: Phonétique. Paris: Welter. Pages 30̵–31.
  2. ^ ghezzo”, in TLIO – Tesoro della lingua italiana delle origini