Origin of the 'Italian' word "gabachet"

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njb
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Origin of the 'Italian' word "gabachet"

Post by njb »

So clearly "gabachet" isn't a real word, but my father and grandfather were discussing the "Brooklyn Italian" word to describe someone as a "pointy head", or someone who inserts themselves into a conversation to start trouble. I guess the closest translation would be a "shit-stirrer" (pardon the language!).

My suspicion is that this is a bastardization of a Neapolitan phrase, but I can't nail down the second part of the word. Right now I have three theories;

1) The phrase comes from "cappucetto" which means "riding hood" as in Little Red Riding Hood
2) "capa scettro", which would mean "scepter head"
3) "capa bacchetta", which would mean "stick head" or "rod head"

Does this phrase sound familiar to anyone? Any insight would be helpful!

edit: I came up with a fourth theory;

4) "capa lancetta", or "lance/lancet head". This is the pointy-est!
AngelaGrace56
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Re: Origin of the 'Italian' word "gabachet"

Post by AngelaGrace56 »

I've always known the word "cett/a" to mean "axe". That's what my mum always called the axe we used for chopping firewood. She was from Basilicata but spent two years in Napoli and spoke both dialects. Head was definitely referred to as "Gab/a" but like in the word cetta the a on the end wasn't emphasised. So maybe it means "axehead"?

Angela
njb
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Re: Origin of the 'Italian' word "gabachet"

Post by njb »

That's a good theory too! It's definitely some variation of one of these.
AngelaGrace56
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Re: Origin of the 'Italian' word "gabachet"

Post by AngelaGrace56 »

I mentioned this to one of my older syblings and she basically agreed with me, except she put it the other way round "head of an axe". I personally believe that it is just a madeup word in the US. I also checked with a friend who is a native speaker of the dialect and he has never heard the word. I can check with another friend as well when I next call her. She lives in another town.

Angela
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