From: Antonio Sciarretta
Message: 14583
Date: 2002-08-27
> Outgoing puint: farfechie
> Miguell & Piotr did not say they do not belive , but they could not find this word . Let us see: In the Grand Dizionario della Lingua Italiana of Salvatore Bataglia ( in 20 volums) published begining with 1961, in the 5-th volume pag 685 we will see:
> farfechia ( ant. ) - baffo ( moustache)
What's "(ant.)"? "Antico?" As Miguel said, for all we know the word could be anything, even a dialectal loan of Osco-Umbrian origin (more likely if it isn't modern). But one cannot divine its history from simply looking at it, without examining its attestation and historical background (including dates and places). Does the dictionary provide any such information?
The word should be farfécchjë, pl. 'moustaches' with closed stressed e and neutral vowel at the end. As far as I remember, this word is often mentioned as a Southern Italy dialectal form showing an Oscan substrate.
Regards
Antonio