Etymology

ocarina

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Today it means: A woodwind musical instrument that is closed at both sides to produce an enclosed space, and punctured with finger holes. Full definition →

Italian ocarina ← Late Latin auca ← Latin *avica
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ew-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éwis
  3. Proto-Italic*awis
  4. Latinavis
  5. Latin*avica
  6. Late Latinauca
  7. Italianoca
  8. Italianocarina
  9. English todayocarina

Borrowed from Italian ocarina (literally “little goose”), due to the musical instrument's resemblance to the animal.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.