scotto

See also: Scotto, scottò, and Scotto-

Italian

FWOTD – 19 November 2022

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈskɔt.to/
• Rhymes: -ɔtto
• Hyphenation: scòt‧to

Etymology 1

From Latin excoctus, perfect passive participle of excoquō (“to boil; to melt”).

Adjective

scotto (feminine scotta, masculine plural scotti, feminine plural scotte)

1. overcooked, overdone (chiefly of pasta and rice)

   Questi fusilli sono scotti. ― These fusilli are overdone.

Related terms

• scottare
• scuocere

Etymology 2

From Frankish *skott, *skatt (“tax”), from Proto-Germanic *skattaz (“wealth; money”). Compare German Schatz (“treasure”) and Sicilian scuttari.

Noun

scotto m (plural scotti) (archaic, literary)

1. the amount to pay for a meal in an inn or tavern

   in tutte le terre passate non guadagnò soldi venti, che gli scotti gli erano costati più di cento novanta

   in all the lands he passed through, he wasn't able to earn twenty soldi, even, whereas his board had costed him over one hundred and ninety

2. (by extension) any meal eaten in a place of lodging

   Synonym: vitto

3. (figurative) compensation

   Synonyms: compenso, contropartita

   pagare lo scotto [di qualcosa] ― to pay the price [for something]

   • 1321, Dante Alighieri, La divina commedia: Purgatorio [The Divine Comedy: Purgatory] (paperback), Bompiani, published 2001, Canto XXX, page 470, lines 142–145:

     Alto fato di Dio sarebbe rotto, ¶ se Letè si passasse e tal vivanda ¶ fosse gustata sanza alcuno scotto ¶ di pentimento che lagrime spanda

     God's lofty fiat would be violated, if Lethe should be passed, and if such viands should tasted be, withouten any scot of penitence, that gushes forth in tears

Usage notes

• Today only used in the set phrase “pagare lo scotto”:

  pagare lo scotto [di qualcosa] ― to pay the price [for something]

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Participle

scotto (feminine scotta, masculine plural scotti, feminine plural scotte)

1. past participle of scuocere