marruggiu

Sicilian

Etymology

Felt as the univerbation of mi (“me, myself”) +‎ arruggiu (“I rust”), given the ferrous nature of many rods and sticks, but this should be treated as folk etymology. Possibly derived from an unattested Vulgar Latin *marraticum, from marra (“hoe, hook”) +‎ -aticum (see also Ancient Greek μάρρον (márrhon, “iron spade”), Classical Syriac ܡܪܐ (marra, “shovel, mattock”), and Arabic مَرّ (marr, “shovel, spade”) for more) but, in this case, the expected output should have been *marraggiu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maʐˈʐud.d͡ʒu/
• Hyphenation: mar‧rùg‧giu

Noun

marruggiu m

1. rod (of a tool)

See also

• vastuni