pelago

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pelagus, from Ancient Greek πέλαγος (pélagos, “sea”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛ.la.ɡo/
• Rhymes: -ɛlaɡo
• Hyphenation: pè‧la‧go

Noun

pelago m (plural pelaghi) (literary)

1. sea, open sea

   Synonyms: mare, (literary) ponto

   • mid 1300s–mid 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto I”, in Inferno [Hell]‎^[1], lines 22–24; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎^[2], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     E come quei che con lena affannata,
     uscito fuor del pelago a la riva,
     si volge a l’acqua perigliosa e guata

     And even as he, who, with distressful breath, forth issued from the sea upon the shore, turns to the water perilous and gazes

   • 1850, Giosuè Carducci, “Canto di primavera”, in Juvenilia‎^[3], volume Libro II, Nicola Zanichelli, published 1906, page 41, lines 1–3:

     Qual sovra la profonda
     Pace del glauco pelago
     Uscí Venere, […]

     Like Venus having risen upon the profound calm of the white sea […]

2. (figurative)
   1. an overwhelming passion
      • 1349–1353, Giovanni Boccaccio, “Proemio”, in Decameron; republished as Aldo Francesco Massera, editor, Il Decameron‎^[4], volume 1, Bari: Laterza, 1927:

        quel piacere che egli è usato di porgere a chi troppo non si mette ne’ suoi piú cupi pelaghi navigando

        that pleasure, that He [Love] usually grants to those who do not sail in his darkest seas

   2. a complex matter
      • 17^th c., Galileo Galilei, Dialogo terzo, collected in Opere di Galileo Galilei, volume 4, Padova, published 1744, page 200:

        mi ricordo ancora, che quando studiavo filosofia, non restai persuaso dalla dimostrazione d'Aristotile; anzi che avevo molte esperienze in contrario: le quali vi potrei anco addurre, ma non voglio, che entriamo in altri pelaghi

        I still remember, when I was studying philosophy, not being convinced by Aristotle's demonstration, but rather having many experiences to the contrary, which I might even mention, but I'd rather not open other cans of worms

   3. a group of various annoyances
   4. a very large quantity (of something)

Derived terms

• impelagarsi
• spelagare

Related terms

• pelagico

Further reading

• pelago in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• pegola

Latin

Noun

pelagō

1. dative/ablative singular of pelagus