Page 14 - Italian American Herald - March 2021

14 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | MARCH 2021 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD ITALIAN MADE FUN & SIMPLE
It’s time to refresh a few practical expressions that you may have forgotten or might like to learn that are good to know at this time of year. Easter time is known in Italian as il Periodo Pasquale and is still firmly rooted in religious traditions. If you think che manca qualche parola (important words are missing) then they probably don’t yet play a significant role in Italy during the Pascal season. We’ll start at Lent and go check out useful expressions through Easter Monday.
Important days of Lent:
Palm Sunday Domenica delle Palme Holy Thursday Giovedì Santo
Good Friday Venerdì Santo
Holy Saturday or Vigil of Easter Sabato Santo
Easter Sunday Pasqua Easter Monday or Little Easter Pasquetta Pentecost Pentecoste Words associated with Easter:
Procession La processione Ceremony La ceremonia Mass La Santa Messa Bonfire Falò
The Passion La Passione
Cross La croce
The Last Supper Il Cenacolo or L’Ultima Cena
Disciple Il discepolo
Pontius Pilate Ponzio Pilato
As always, food takes center stage in any Italian celebration and Easter is no exception.
Here is vocabulary for some Easter foods.
Bread Il pane Lamb L’agnello Chocolate La cioccolata Egg L’uovo
Chocolate at this time of year is almost always in the shape of an egg followed by chocolate crosses.
Breads made during Easter are beyond the imagination, with almost every region boasting one or two specialties.
The one bread that is common to the entire country is the traditional columba, a sweet bread shaped like a dove.
The seasonal greeting is Buona Pasqua (Happy Easter).
Here in the United States there are certain Easter words and traditions that Italians maintain and others that either never took hold here or have fallen by the wayside as a result of assimila- tion. Much of what is retained in the United States has a food connection to a particular region and the associated vocabulary is in dialect. Let’s look at two of these food items that you may have heard, and explain their significance.
The first is the Sicilian cuddura cu l’ova. Once you leave Sicily, it is almost impossible
to find a bakery on the Italian mainland that bakes this Sicilian Easter favorite. Here in the United States the tradition of the cuddura cu l’uva transcends the Sicilian Americans and is popular among the Italian Americans-at-large. In fact, it is easier to find the cuddura here than on the Italian mainland. What exactly does this Sicilian word mean and what would be the Italian equivalent? The translation from Sicilian to English is best put like this, “Braided with eggs” which leaves us now with the proper Italian to be defined. Given this is not an item that crosses the Straits of Messina very often, there is no other way to refer to this short of a literal translation to Italian which would look something like this, Treccia con le ova, words that might elicit a strange look if spoken to an Italian.
Another popular food, la pastiera, from Naples is also popular in the United States not only among Neapolitan Americans, but again has garnished popularity among many Italian Americans. However, a search through an Italian dictionary reveals no such word as pastiera in Italian. It can best be described as an Easter sweet grain pie.
This month’s proverb
It is of Abruzzese origins:
Abruzzese: A ccàsa vjìecchie le surge n’ mmànghe. Italiano: Nella casa vecchia non mancano i topi. English: There’s never a lack of mice in an old house.
The proverb reflects that mice seem to find refuge in older houses which suggests that older houses can be “money pits.”
This month’s falso amico
It is disgrazia, which does not mean the same as English “disgrace” as in the sense of shameful act. In Italian disgrazia means a misfortune. A disgrace can best be described by the Italian as una vergogna.
Next month we get back to basics for a long-overdue review of an irregular Italian verb.
Surnames and Their Origins
You can research your surname on these two websites:
• surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/italian/ • cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani.
Following the holiday surname feature in our last issue, this month we return to our traditional Italian surnames that start with the letter O.
OCCHIONERO – This surname consists of two words: “occhio” meaning eye and “nero” meaning dark or black. Families with this surname most definitely had ancestors with dark eyes who first had this name applied to them as a nickname. The surname is not very common, except in the region
of Molise. It is present in 18 other regions, but not at all in the Val d’Aosta. Variations: Occhinero, Occhinegro.
ODONE – This surname is believed to be of German origin from the first name Otto.
It is only present in nine regions, mostly in Liguria and Piemonte, which are close to the Austrian border and were at times occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Variations: Oddi, Odda, Oddono.
ODOARDI – This surname is believed to also be of German origin from the German first name Edoardo, meaning guardian of the property. It also has only a small presence in Italy with just 10 regions having it recorded in vital statistics records. Of the regions where it is present, it’s most prevalent in Abruzzo. Variations: Odoardo.
ODORISIO – This surname is another believed to be of German origin from the German first name Odorico, meaning rich, noble. It too has only a small presence in Italy with just 11 regions having it recorded in vital statistic records. Of the regions where it is present, it’s most prevalent in Abruzzo. Variations: Odorico, Oderico.
OLIVIERI – This surname is derived from the first name Oliviero. This surname has a large presence and is recorded in vital statistics offices in all 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Lazio and least recorded in Val d’Aosta.
ORIENTE – This surname is derived from the word “oriente” meaning east or orient. The surname probably indicates the place of origin of the descendent families,
which would not be at all unusual, given that the Italian peninsula was invaded and occupied by several armies of the Middle East. It is present in 14 regions with the most families with that surname in Molise.
ORLANDI – This surname is derived from the first name Orlando, which derived from the old name Rolando. This is a very common surname in Italy. It is present in all 20 regions. It has the largest presence in Lombardia.
ORSINI – This surname is derived
from the word “orso,” meaning bear and originally used as a nickname to indicate a strong person. Descendent families with this surname had ancestors who were no doubt strong men and hard workers. It is present in all 20 regions, mostly found in Lazio and least in Molise. Variations: Orselli, Orsetti, Orsolini.
ORTONA – This surname derived from the name of the town of Ortona in the region of Abruzzo. Descendent families with this surname had their roots in Abruzzo. As a surname, it has expanded to eight other regions.
OTTOVIANO – This surname is derived from the first name Ottavio, which in turn derived from the noble Roman family name “Octavia.” This name was given by the Romans to the eighth child born. It is a surname found in 19 regions, including Lazio. However, it is most prevalent in Abruzzo and least in Sardegna. It is not present in Val d’Aosta. Variations: OTTAIANO.
OVIDIA – This surname is derived from the first name Ovidio, derived from the Latin family name “Ovidius,” from the word Latin word “ovis,” meaning sheep. Ancestors of the present-day families with this surname where no doubt shepherds. It is present in only 11 regions in very, very small numbers. Variations: Ovidio.
Next month we begin to look at Italian surnames that begin with the letter P. IAH