Curly Sue said:On Sun, 24 Jul 2005 00:43:43 -0400, "Bob (this one)" <"Bob
@nospam.com said:Quoted message said:On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 21:39:58 GMT, [email hidden] (Curly
Sue) wrote:
>But you are indeed the one with the agita.
Oh, Sue, it's *acido* as in acid as in indigestion - gastric distress,
you know. Although I'm sure you'll find something wrong in how I've said
that, too.
Oh Bob, you make it so easy by taking a cheap shot at what you
consider to be an error... and you're so wrong!
<LOL> I love it when this sort of "incontrovertible" truth is bleated
out here like this. In deference to your distress when people aren't
kind to each other, I'll just be as warm and approving as always; your
self-esteem is my job.
Hypocritical idiot.
Quoted message said:You could have done a
web search on "agita" first, just to be sure.
<LOL> It was an expression in the culture I grew up in. Daily currency.
By the Southern Italians who do both vowel and consonant shifts from
what's generally considered "true" Italian. Not by northern Italians who
spoke more in the front of the mouth than southerners. I'm sure you
don't understand the linguistic and phonic implications of that.
I wouldn't expect that you'd know about dialectic shifts and evolutions.
Nor would I expect you to know about or understand the idea of
"smoothing" that occurs when non-native speakers use unfamiliar
vocabularies.
Quoted message said:In that case you would have found this on the website Medterms
http://tinyurl.com/by7pg
Definition of Agita:
Agita: Heartburn, acid indigestion, an upset stomach or, by extension,
a general feeling of upset. The word is Italian-American slang derived
from the Italian "agitare" meaning "to agitate."
"Agitare" means to shake (like a liquid) or wave (as hand or
handkerchief); to incite, trouble, disturb (although the connotations
aren't in the limited sense that it's used in English - it's more active
and means to deliberately stir up as a political agitator). It's a
transitive verb. It doesn't mean to agitate in the sense of a person
becoming agitated. "Agitato" is an adjective that means "worried, upset,
excited. "Agitarsi" is a reflexive verb that means to agitate in the
political sense.
Interesting how these folks are so sure of their data, and such experts
in linguistics.
"MedicineNet.com is an online, healthcare media publishing company. It
provides easy-to-read, in-depth, authoritative medical information for
consumers via its robust, user-friendly, interactive web site. Since
1996, MedicineNet.com has had a highly accomplished, uniquely
experienced team of qualified Webster's New World Medical Dictionary -
authored by MedicineNet executives in the fields of medicine,
healthcare, Internet technology, and business to bring you the most
comprehensive, sought after healthcare information anywhere. Nationally
recognized, 100% Doctor-Produced by a network of over 70 U.S. Board
Certified Physicians, MedicineNet.com is the trusted source for online
health and medical information."
<http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=12510>
I think it's interesting how many sites define it the same way as the
oh-so-authoritative MedicineNet folks do, right down to the exact same
words. <LOL> Who stole from whom?
-------------------------
And here's another medical site that has a good bit more substance
behind the subject, and a more far-ranging discussion of sources:
"In Italy you will more likely hear "acidita'" - acidity."
http://www.wordwizard.com/clubhouse/founddiscuss1.asp?Num=2069
I had been spelling it with a 't' taken from "agitate" rather than the
"d" in acidity until I found that conversation. The "agida" spelling
seems to be more correct. Neither spelling has found its way into
American English dictionaries but with the popularity of HBO's "The
Sopranos," it very well could."
<http://www.medical-239.biz/v18/threadview-id=362923.htm>
Quoted message said:Agitare Bob, not acido.
Your Italian pronunciation is impeccable, Sue. And nearly as good as
your scholarship. Unfortunately.
Quoted message said:With your superior Italian-American creds,
what should have given you some pause was the the final "a" on agita,
but your ego ran over that clue.
Nah. Your absent knowledge of linguistics killed you even while you were
doing your oh-so-premature gloating dance. See above again. Then go
read how words are changed and how they evolve in new surroundings
Sue, your desperate eagerness to finally achieve some sort of snide
triumph - despite your frenzied condemnations when others do it - led
you to a wonderfully solid conclusion of absolute truth. Um, except it
didn't. Here, stick this up your mind:
""Agita" is not a standard Italian word, and linguists are not certain
where came from(. One possible source is the Italian word "agitare" ("to
agitate" or "to trouble"😉, which in turn came from the Latin "agitare,"
which meant "to stir up." To be "agitato" in Italy is to be very
excited, and a musical score marked "agitato" is intended to be played
at a frenzied pace. But it's also possible that the source is "acido"
(pronounced "AH-chee-do"😉, Italian for "stomach acid," which then
possibly became "agita" ("AH-jih-ta"😉 over time. Whatever the source,
"agita" seems to have arrived in New York with Italian immigrants around
the turn of the century, and has been in constant use, especially in
places like New York City, ever since."
<http://www.word-detective.com/121800.html>
Or maybe this one...?
"Foreign Borrowings
agita . . . . noun [South Italian dialect pronunciation of Italian
acido, literally, heartburn, acid, from Latin acidus] (1982) : a feeling
of agitation or anxiety"
<http://www.merriam-webstercollegiate.com/info/new_words.htm>
How about this one...?
"agita \AJ-uh-tuh\ noun: a feeling of agitation or anxiety
"Judging by its spelling and meaning, you might think that "agita" is
simply a shortened version of "agitation," but that's not the case. Both
"agitation" and the verb "agitate" derive from the Latin "agere" ("to
drive"😉. "Agita," which first appeared in English in the early 1980s,
comes from a dialectical pronunciation of the Italian "acido," meaning
"heartburn" or "acid," which derives from the Latin "acidus." For a
while its usage in American English was limited to New York City and
surrounding regions, but the word became more widespread in the mid-90s."
<http://neostc.org/lines/Archives/0903/vocabulary.htm>
Quoted message said:I'll end this post on that note.
That note of yours is A-flat, darlin'. Really; don't be so frantically
eager to do what you condemn. Makes you look less than totally sincere.
The fact that Italian is my first language, and that I've known many
dialect speakers (including me and everyone else in my family and circle
of Italian-speaking friends), and that I know how the language shifts
from dialectic group to other such groups lets me see this one from the
inside. If I were speaking to my Sicilian relatives, I would pronounce
acido as agituh (with "d/t" like street New York "dese" or "dat" where
the sounds are neither "d" nor "t" but somewhere between, and a
"swallowed" terminal "uh"😉. If I meant "agitated," it would sound like
"agitatuh" (with soft "g" and slurred "t/d" with "swallowed" terminal "uh"😉
Pastorio
