--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Rick McCallister <gabaroo6958@...>
wrote:
> The ending of cucaracha seems suspiciously Italian -accia. Are
> there related words for bugs along the lines of *kukara/o- in
> Sicilian, Calabrese, Napolitano, etc.?
I am afraid that most of South and Island Italian languages/dialects
derive their respective principal terms for cockroach from Latin
scarabaeus. These terms are, therefore, cognate to Italian
scarafaggio (which has, in turn, cognates in most of Romance
languages). Scarafaggio is derived fom Latin scarabaeus via a
presumed Greek-like form *scarabaius/*scarafaius >
*scarabajus/*scarafajus which, though reportedly unattested, must
have existed in Vulgar Latin.
Some examples:
Sicilian scarafaggiu/scavagghiu
Sardinian scraffioni
Neapolitan scarrafone
Let me also mention here that a famous Neapolitan adage goes
that "Ogni scarrafone e' bello a mamma soja!" (= every cockroach is
beautiful to its mom, i.e., a child is *always* beautiful to his/her
mother...).
Cheers,
Francesco