Baita, bettola: building a “shelter”

Abstract

New etymological proposal, which links It. bàita ‘made of braided wood, temporary building’, which is normally considered to be pre-Latin term or slang term of Hebrew origin, and It. béttola ‘tavern of the lowest order’ (normally considered to be *bevéttola, < bere ‘to drink’) but also (e.g., in Genoa: béttoa) ‘sort of boat’ – what suggests béttola < bàita + -́ola. The new proposal takes bàita and béttola back to German *bastjan ‘to braid (at first with bast, then with wood etc.)’, from which e.g. It. bastimento ‘ship, vessel’ and French bâtiment ‘building’.