sciosciare

Neapolitan

Alternative forms

• sciusciare, scioscià, sciuscià (alt. spellings)

Etymology

Inherited from Latin sufflāre.

Initial /ʃ/, for etymologically-expected /s/, presumably reflects assimilation to the following /ʃ(ʃ)/, which represents the regular outcome of Latin /fl/ in Neapolitan proper. (Cf. sciore < Latin flōrem.) Sound-symbolism may also have played a role.

Pronunciation

• (Naples) IPA^(key): [ʃuʃˈʃa]

Verb

sciosciare

1. to blow

Derived terms

• scioscio

References

• AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 936: “soffiare sul fuoco; soffia 3” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it
• Rocco, Emmanuele (1882) “sciosciare”, in Vocabolario del dialetto napolitano