mignotta

Italian

Etymology

Uncertain. Perhaps a borrowing or parallel formation of French mignotte f (“favourite/favorite”), which is a different spelling of French mignonne f (“gentle, kind, cute”).

Traditionally thought to be derived as a spelling pronunciation of m. ignotae (Latin matris ignotae (“of unknown mother”)), used in name registers for foundlings. The shift from “unknown mother” to “whore” would allegedly have happened through the phrase figlio di una mignotta (“son of an unknown mother; foundling”), which merged semantically with similar formations like figlio di puttana, figlio di buona madre, etc. all meaning “son of a whore”.

Noun

mignotta f (plural mignotte)

  1. (regional, derogatory, vulgar, slang) whore, hooker, slut
    Synonym: puttana
    figlio di una mignotta ― son of a whore

Further reading
  • mignotta on the Italian Wikipedia.Wikipedia it
  • mignotta in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
  • mignotta in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
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