Linguistics

I have been enjoying my increased Italian vocabulary which has given me further insights into names that I have grown up knowing...many of which refer to shapes of pasta (or music!). For instance:

Spago = twine, string; spaghetti = “little strings”

Tiramisu = “pick-me-up” (made-up name, though, with unknown etymology, c. 1980)

“spada” = sword, hence “spades” in cards

Verme = “worm”, vermicolare = “shaped like a worm” ...I have to believe that vermicelli refers also to worms...

Macchiato = “stained”...so a “cafe macchiato” is coffee with a dab of milk. Latte macchiato is hot milk stained with a bit of coffee, by contrast (and is delicious, by the way...especially with cocoa on top!)

Piano/forte are words that are used to mean more than just quiet/loud. They also mean slowly/quickly, gently/strongly, and so on. 

Libretto (the words of opera) = “little book”

maestro = master

Fette = “slice”, so fettuccini = sliced pasta

Tagliata = “cut”, so tagliatelle = cut pasta (and there’s a pasta that’s in small, flat pieces, often cut by hand, called “maltagliata” meaning “poorly cut”)

Pesto = “stuff ground in a (you guessed it) pestle”

Ragu = sauce, made with a tomato base & meat

Incidentally, the word “pasta” can mean:

What anglophones call pasta (as in, noodles, spaghetti, etc.)

Dough

Paste (of any sort, including wallpaper paste, toothpaste, etc.)

Mixture

Pastry

And I’m sure a variety of other things I can’t remember at the moment.

Love,

Alexandra