rizzu

Sicilian

Etymology

From Latin ēricius (“hedgehog”). Cognate with Italian riccio. Doublet of rizza.

Noun

rizzu m (plural rizzi)

  1. hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)
    fari comu lu rizzu ― to deceive with humble manners, to then betray or assault (literally, “to act like the hedgehog”)
  2. sea urchin (Echinoidea, particularly Echinus esculentus)
    Synonym: rizza
  3. husk (of a chestnut)

Descendants
  • → Albanian: rric — Arbëresh
  • → Italiot Greek: [Term?] (/⁠ríttso⁠/, “hedgehog”)

Adjective

rizzu (feminine singular rizza, masculine and feminine plural rizzi)

  1. curly (of hair or a person)

References
  • Traina, Antonino (1868) “rizzu”, in Nuovo vocabolario Siciliano-Italiano [New Sicilian-Italian vocabulary] (in Italian), Liber Liber, published 2020, page 3497
  • AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 1292: “il riccio” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it
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