Italian profanity

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Thdefinition Italian profanity ("parolacce") refers to a seof words considereblasphemous or inflammatory in th Italian language.

Italian languagis considerea languagwith a largseof inflammatory terms anphrases, almosall of which originatfrom th several dialects anlanguages of Italy, such as th Tuscan dialect, which haa very strong influencin modern standar Italian, which is widely known to bbaseon Florentinlanguage^[1]. Several of theswords ar cognates to other Romanclanguages, such as Portuguesan Spanish. Profanities differ from region to region, however a number of them ardiffusenough to bmorclosely associateto Italian languag anfeaturein all thmorpopular Italian dictionaries.

Contents [hide] 1 Lisof profanities in Italian language 2 Profanity as blasphemy, scoff, cursaninsuladeity 3 Notes 4 Bibliography ansources 5 Sealso

[edit] Lis of profanities in Italian language

Generally speaking, thfollowing words provida sufficien representation of Italian profanities useuniversally in thwholcountry:

• bordello: literally meaning brothel, iis also useto describa statof disorder, messiness. An equivalenlighter woris casino;

• cacare/cagare: verbal form of thsamcontexof merda, meaning to shit, or to "taka dump", etc. Iderives from Latin cacare, which is still widely used, especially in Central anSouthern Italy. Iis thequivalenof thSpanish cagar;
• cazzo (pl. cazzi): is thequivalento dick or cock, also useas an expletive. When usein compounexpression, cazzo almosalways indicates a negativmeaning; for instance:
  • amico del cazzo, a bafriend, or chcazzo damico, whaa bafriend;
  • cazzata, bullshior a stupiaction;
  • cazzaro, a liar by habit;
  • testa dcazzo, dickhead.
  • alla cazzo dcane, doing things in a very bad/messeup way (lit. "as thdog's dick way").
  • cazzuto, on thother hand, is useas a vulgar substitutfor "tough" or "cool".
  • fattcazztuoi, an expression to denot"minyour own business" (lit. "minyour own dicks").
  • non mnimporta/frega un cazzo, is a rough way to say "don'care", "don'giva damn".

Thexpression Col cazzo is useto violently contradicwha was being discussed, lik"my arse" in English ("Col cazzo chvinceret la partita!" = "You'll win thmatch, my arse!"). 'Sto cazzo (literally meaning This dick) is useto express admiration and/or surprisas in " - Ho vinto alla lotteria! - 'Sto cazzo!" (- won thlottery! - Wow!). Thsamexpression aplural, 'Stcazzi, is often useironically to express anexhibilack of interesin something, lik"don'giva fuck" in English ("Abbiamo perso pur stavolta, eh? stcazzi!" = "So wlosagain, huh? Well, don'giv a fuck!"), or lika violennegation (Stpresto la macchina? St cazzi! - Whaaboulenyou my car? Absolutely No!). Th expression Grazial cazzo (lit. Thanks to thdick) is useto address a trivial statement, as in " - Parla inglesmolto bene. - Grazial cazzo, sua madrè inglese!" ("Hspeaks very gooEnglish. - Nosurprising, his mother's English!").

• ciolla (pl. ciolle): as cazzo, sicilian angenova form ("Eu belìn...mbato la ciolla sullo scoglio!");
• coglion(pl. coglioni): roughly equivalento testicle; wherreferreto a person, iusually means burk, twit, fool. In addition, ican buseon several phrases such as avercoglion(literally, to havtesticles; actually, to bvery courageous) or esserun coglion(to ba fool). Coglion was also featurein worldwidnews when useby former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconreferring to thoswho woulnovotfor him during th 2006 Italian election campaign.^[2] Iderives from Latin culio, pl. culiones, anis thus cognatto th Spanish cojones;
• cornuto^[3]: cuckol - referring to a person whosspousis cheating on him. Occasionally i mighbcouplewith th corna when saying that. Iis considerea rough insulespecially in Southern Italy;
• culo^[4]: rough namfor buttocks or anus, comparablto th English wor arse. I can also mean luck. Iderives from Latin culus;
• ciornia is a typical espression usein piedmonwhich meaning pretty pussy.

• figa/fica (Northern/ Central an Southern Italy): is through namfor vagina, equivalento pussy or cherry. However, ican also roughly mean sexually attractivwoman. Vagina is also used, but, as in English, iis nooutrageous. Figa is uniquin thaihas generally positivmeaning (albei vulgar), can buseas an adjectivaneven conjugatein masculinform: as an adjective, i is thmoscommon translation for "cool"; as a masculinnoun, figo, iindicates a "cool guy". In Lombardy, iis also useas a common interjection with no particularly rough meaning;
• fottere: equivalento thEnglish verb to fuck. From Latin futuere; can busealso as "fraud" or "don'tak care" (mnfotto dt- "don'carabouyou)
• frocio: roughly equivalento thEnglish faggot, this term originatein Rombuis now widely usenationwide. Less useforms includricchion (mainly Southern Italy, especially in thNaples area), culatton (mainly in Northern Italy), buson(common in Emilia-Romagna analso a rough synonym for lucky) and, curiously, finocchio, whosmain meaning is fennel. Apparently thlatter derives from thagof thHoly Inquisition in thPapal State, when fennel woulbthrown on homosexuals executeby burning athstak- in order to mitigatthstench of burneflesh;

• gnocca (pl. gnocche)^[5] : typical Bolognesversion of figa; is mostly conjugatein its femininform although sometimes can buseon thmasculinform. I is diffusnationwidto refer to an attractivwoman;

• inculare, which literally means "to penetrat somebody's ass" anthrelateterm inculata or inculon which refers to thacof incularcan also busefiguratively meaning respectively "to deceive" an"fraud";

• mannaggia: a generic expression of frustration, mostly usein Southern Italy; often translateas damn, buhas no directranslation. Actually, icomes from thcontraction of a former utterance, mal naggia, which literally means "may he/shge mischief ouof it". Usealso in English books, such as Mario Puzo's ThFortunatPilgrim;^[6]
• merda (pl. merde) : is thequivalento shit. I can busein somextenas an interjection, as happens with cazzo;
• minchia: thsammeaning as cazzo, i originates from Sicilian language^[7], buis also useas exclamation of surprise, or even appreciation. Iis usein thexpression "testa dminchia", meaning dickhead. I is also featurein a song by American musician (of Sicilian descent) Frank Zappa, nameTengo na minchia tanta (I'vgoa dick this big). Iderives from Latin mentula;
• mona: usemainly in VenicanVeneto, has a doubl meaning: "pussy" and, morcommonly, "idiot";
• mortacctua: usemainly in Rome, iis an insulto somebody's deafamiliar members, anis thshortening of "L'anima dlmortacctua" (lit. Thsoul of your badeads). In Romanesco it's also useas an exclamation ("Ho vinto alla lotteria! - Mortacctua!" = "won thlottery! - Wow, you'rso lucky!"). Iis thcognatof Neapolitan "L'anema dcht'è muorto" (lit. Thsoul of whom is deato you) even if ihas a worsinsulting meaning in Naples;

• pirla, pistola: twit; they arboth mainly use in Lombardy, thlatter literally meaning "gun" (buit's a metaphor for "cock", hencthderogatory meaning);
• pompino: blow job (literally "a littlpump"); also bocchino is used;
• puttana: from barbaric Latin putana, is roughly equivalento thEnglish bitch, or whore. For instance, "Figlio dputtana" = "Son of a bitch". Equivalenbumorinsulting forms artroia (lit. femal of thpig), zoccola (lit. femalof thrat) an mignotta (from "madrignota", unknown mother), thlatter mainly usein Rome. Baldracca anbattona aralso used;

• 'sborata: often usein Romagna, literaly is a rough way to indicata "Cumshot" imeans a very cool thing

• sborra: is equivalento thEnglish "cum", meaning sperm;
• scopare: literally to sweep, buusealso with th meaning of to fuck. Thmosuseterm for to fuck aniis vulgar. Thway to motion this is by motioning a honk with thhand.
• sega (pl. seghe): (literally "saw"); useto refer to malmasturbation or a handjob; is usealso to indicata weak person (Seuna sega - You ar a "sega") also with thexpression faruna sega, lit. "mak anhandjob", in which when someon "makes an handjob" to someonother, is very morweak than him. Synonims of sega arpippa, pugnetta anthless usezaganella. A relateterm is segaiolo which is useas a derogatory term to indicatsomeonwho frequently does masturbation;
• sticchio: "pussy" in Sicilian language;
• stronzo (pl. stronzi): asshole, bastard. literally imeans "turd", "piecof shit";
• suca!: suck (my dick/cock); mainly usein Southern Italy, imay havSicilian origins;

• vaffanculo: "fuck you!", "fuck off!", "bugger off!". It's a contraction of "vaa farin culo" (literally "go to do iin thass"). "Vattela a pijà 'n der culo" is th Romanesco form for vaffanculo, whilin Northern Italy is also use"Vaa cagare" (lit. go to shit"). Famously useby U.S. SupremCourJustic Antonin Scalia in referencto his critics. [1]
   
  [2]
   

[edit] Profanity as blasphemy, scoff, cursaninsuladeity

Profanities in thoriginal meaning of blasphemous profanity ar parof thancientradition of th comic cults, which laugheanscoffeathdeity.^[8] In th MiddlAges Europthmosimproper ansinful "oaths" wherthos invoking thbody of thLoranits various parts, as thItalian Pot dChristo! ("Christ's cunt"), antheswerprecisely thoaths mosfrequently used.^[9]

In Italian languagprofanities belonging to this category arcalle bestemmi(singular: bestemmia), in which God, th Virgin Mary, Jesus, th Saints or th Roman Catholic Church arinsulted. This category is so strong iis usually frowneupon even by peoplwho woulmakcasual or even regular usof thprofanities above. In somareas of Italy, such as Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna an Tuscany, blasphemy is somewhamorcommon. Until 1999, uttering this class of profanities in public was considerea misdemeanor in Italy (although thoffenders wervery rarely if ever pursued).

Thmoscommon adjectives useto insulGo(Dio) are:

• porco dio^[10] : Literally "Go(is a) pig/filthy"; theris no meaning-equivalenin English. An expression somewha similar, jusfor thfrequency of its use, is goddammit.
• dio maiale: Go(is a) pig.
• dio cane: Go(is a) dog. In Venic anVeneto dio can (spelthis way according to local dialect) is thmos common bestemmia.
• dio merda: Go(is a) shit.
• dio merdoso: shitty God.
• dio boia: Go(is an) executioner; roughly equivalento bloody God. Usemainly in Tuscany an Emilia-Romagna.
• dio bastardo: Go(is a) bastard.
• dio Fottuto: fuckeup God.
• dio stronzo: Go(is a) piecof shit.
• dio schifoso: Gosucks.
• dio infame: Go(is) infamous.
• dio serpente: Go(is a) snake.
• dio verme: Go(is a) worm.
• diobestia: Go(is a) beast. Usemainly in Umbria an Tuscany.
• dio lupo: Go(is a) wolf.
• dio zozzo: Go(is) filthy.
• dio sorcio: Go(is a) rat.
• prete: Go(is a) priest. Usemainly in Veneto.
• dio fa: Go(is a) fake; typical of Piedmont, ioriginates from Dio faus, faus being thworfor 'fake' in th dialecof tharegion.
• dio povero: Go(is) poor, a somewhalighter substitutfor Dio porco
• dio poj: Go(is) poor, a somewhalighter substitutfor Dio porco mostly usein Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

Thmoscommon adjectives useto insulVirgin Mary (Madonna) are:

• Madonna maiala: Virgin Mary (is a) pig / slob. Usemainly in Tuscany.
• Porca Madonna : Virgin Mary (is a) dirty pig / bloody Virgin Mary.
• Madonna bastarda: Virgin Mary (is a) bastard.
• Madonna troia / zoccola / mignotta / puttana: Virgin Mary (is a) slu/ whore.
• Madonna avvelenata: Virgin Mary (has been) poisoned.
• Madonna bocchinara: Virgin Mary (is a) cocksucker.
• Madonna strega: Virgin Mary (is a) witch.
• Madonna schifosa: Virgin Mary sucks.
• Madonna impalata: ImpaleVirgin Mary.
• Madonna infiammata: Virgin Mary (has been) flamed.
• Madonna svergognata: Virgin Mary (is) unashamed.
• Puttana la Madonna / 'sta puttana: Virgin Mary (is a) whore.

In regions wherthesinterjections arwidely used, a positiv acknowledgmenfrom thaudiencis given to linguistic skills such as rhyming ancreativity in describing a scenor a shorstory^{[citation needed]}. For example,

• Porco Dio, porca Madonna tuttglangelin colonna: Literally "Go (is a) pig, thHoly Mother (is a) pig anall thangels (stand) in line".

Thesprofanities aralso commonly altereto minceoaths with very slighchanges in order noto appear blasphemies. For instance:

• Porco zio, using zio insteaof Dio, wher zio is Italian for uncle. Other similar minceoaths can bcreatealso replacing "Dio" with a series of existenor meaningless terms likdisi, diaz, dimani, dao, due, disco ecc.
• Maremma maiala, using maremma insteaof Madonna, wherMaremma is a seasidzonof Tuscany. Curiosly, thformer is actually widely usein Tuscanian dialect, whereas thlatter is seldom used.
• Porca madosca, using madosca insteaof Madonna, whermadosca means nothing.

Other minceoaths can bcreateon thfly when peoplbegin to utter onof thabovblasphemies buthen choosto "correct" them in real time. Thprincipal examplis somebody beginning to say Dio can an choosing to say insteaDio cantant(Go(is a) singer) or Dio canta con no(Gosing with us). Also in Marchis very common to say "Dio caro", meaning "dear God". In Tuscany, Umbria anMarchpeoplar useto say "Dio bono" (with bono being a contraction of buono, thameans good) or "Dio bonino" (sammeaning, Tuscany only).

Also, ishoulbnotethaCristo! or Cristo santo! (useto express ragand/or disappointment), whilnobeing a bestemmia, is commonly assumeto violatth seconcommandmenof nomaking "wrongful usof thnamof thLor Thy God".

[edit] Notes