saveloy

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱerh₂-“head, top; horn”
2. Proto-Italic · derived from*kerazrom
3. Latin · derived fromcerebellum“brain; little brain”
4. Lombard · derived fromzervelada
5. Italian · derived fromcervellata
6. Old French · derived fromcervelat
7. French · derived fromcervelas“type of thick, short sausage”
8. English todaysaveloy

From a corruption of cervelat (“Swiss smoked beef or pork sausage”) or French cervelas (“type of thick, short sausage”) (perhaps influenced by Savoy (“historical region in western Europe now shared between modern France, Italy, and Switzerland”)), both from Old French cervelat, from Italian cervellata (compare Italian cervelletto (“cerebellum”), cervello (“brain”), probably from the fact that the sausage was originally made from pork brains), from Old Milanese Lombard zervelada, from Latin cerebellum (“brain; little brain”), from cerebrum (“brain”) (from Proto-Italic *kerazrom, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“head, top; horn”)) + -ellum (suffix forming diminutives).

Words from the same roots