ranocchiaia

ranocchiaia

Italian

Etymology

From ranocchio (“frog”) +‎ -aia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ra.nokˈkja.ja/
• Rhymes: -aja
• Hyphenation: ra‧noc‧chià‧ia

Noun

ranocchiaia f (plural ranocchiaie)

1. a place full of frogs

   Synonym: ranocchiaio

2. (figurative, derogatory, by extension) an unwelcoming place
3. a purple heron, Ardea purpurea, a species of heron that eats frogs

   Synonym: sgarza

   • (Can we date this quote?) “Ardea purpurea”, in Monaco Nature Encyclopedia‎:

     Il nome di ranocchiaia ormai in disuso e largamente sconosciuto ai molti, era invece comunemente usato nel XIX secolo e riportato in qualsiasi libro naturalistico dell’epoca e si riferiva a quello che si riteneva il principale alimento di questo uccello.

     The name of the purple heron, by now in disuse and largely unknown to many, was rather commonly used in the nineteenth century and reported in many nature books of the time and people often referred to what they believed was the primary aliment of this bird.