sprazzo

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsprat.t͡so/
• Rhymes: -attso
• Hyphenation: spràz‧zo

Etymology 1

Possibly a deverbal from sprazzare +‎ -o, or of independent onomatopoeic origin.

Noun

sprazzo m (plural sprazzi)

1. a spray, a spurting out (of liquid)

   Synonym: zampillo

   • 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XXIII”, in Purgatorio [Purgatory]‎^[1], lines 67–69; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎^[2], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     Di bere e di mangiar n'accende cura
     l'odor ch'esce del pomo e de lo sprazzo
     che si distende su per sua verdura.

     Desire to eat and drink enkindles in us the scent that issues from the apple-tree, and from the spray that sprinkles o'er the verdure;

2. (by extension) flash (of light; of intelligence)

   Synonym: lampo

   un sprazzo di luce ― a flash of light

   a sprazzi ― occasionally, now and then

   • 1921, Alfredo Panzini, “Satana e Cristo”, in Il diavolo nella mia libreria:

     Si avvicinava la sera. Quello sprazzo di luce che tramonta, mi sembra il rosso manto che Satana trascina dietro: quelle stelle che laggiù appaiono, mi sembrano la corona di Ieova.

     The evening was approaching. That fading flash of light, it seems to me the red cloak that Satana dragged behind: those stars that matched down there, it seemed to me like Ieova's crown.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

sprazzo

1. first-person singular present indicative of sprazzare

Further reading

• sprazzo in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana