In Italian a dormer is called “abbaino”, with the accent on the i, a word that sounds strange even to us. The obvious etym would be “abbaiare” (to bark), but this is not the case. It does probably come from the old Genoese dialectal form abbaèn, which literally means a young abbot, but was often used for young friars. In fact, the slate cover of the dormers was similar to the grey of the young friars' frocks. Others say that it is a form of “abbadino”, which comes from “badare” (to watch), or from the French baie (an opening in a wall).External links: Dormer (Wikipedia)
The text makes it even more a mystery to look at.
ReplyDeletePlease have a good new week.
Great post. I just learned a lot!
ReplyDeleteIt looks lonely. It's probably wondering why it's called like that.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, it's a good observation deck.
ReplyDeleteBella lezione di lingua! Ciao, Arianna
ReplyDeleteI had even forgotten the English word dormer.
ReplyDeleteIt is fun to play with etymologies.
Interesting etymology.
ReplyDeleteInteresting.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a vindskupa in Swedish.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the window I posted on chimney day! :-) Lovely.
ReplyDelete