farfecchia

== Italian == === Etymology === Inherited from Latin forficula (“small scissors”), from forfic- (“scissors”) +‎ -ula, with an unexpected shift of the first vowel. Compare borrowed doublet forficula and seemingly inherited doublet forfecchia (“earwig”). Alternatively, possibly from the Osco-Umbrian substrate, from Proto-Italic *farβā (“beard”) with the Latin diminutive suffix -cula, in which case, sharing the same root as Italian barba. Though speculative, this would explain the divergent meaning and /a/ vowel. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /farˈfek.kja/ Rhymes: -ekkja Hyphenation: far‧féc‧chia === Noun === farfecchia f (plural farfecchie) (rare, usually in the plural) moustache === References === === Further reading === farfecchie in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication