màchina

Sicilian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin machina. Compare Italian macchina and dialectal machina.

Noun

màchina f (plural màchini)

1. device, machine (object that allows to perform certain actions)

   màchina umana ― human body (literally, “human machine”)

   màchina pri fari lu bùtiru ― churn for making butter

2. machination, plot (secret evil plan)

   omu di màchina ― a crafty, malicious person (literally, “man of machination”)

3. very large structure

   È na màchina st'edificiu!

   This building is huge!

   (literally, “This building is a machine!”)

4. cavafango (Is there an English equivalent to this definition?)

Descendants

• → Maltese: magna, makna, makina (obsolete)

References

• Traina, Antonino (1868) “màchina”, in Nuovo vocabolario Siciliano-Italiano [New Sicilian-Italian vocabulary] (in Italian), Liber Liber, published 2020, page 2316
• Pasqualino (c. 1790) “màchina”, in Vocabolario siciliano etimologico, italiano e latino (in Italian), volume 3, page 69
• Mortillaro, Vincenzo (1862) “màchina”, in Nuovo vocabolario siciliano-italiano (in Italian), pages 502–503