chiotto
Italian edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Perhaps from Latin plautus (“having flat feet, or wide ears”), via a southern dialect, like Neapolitan. The geminate -tt- may be due to influence of *plattus (“flat”) (whence Italian piatto and Neapolitan chiatto).
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
chiotto (feminine chiotta, masculine plural chiotti, feminine plural chiotte)
- quiet, still, be it because of pressure, fear, hypocrisy, or in order to act in secret
- (by extension) sly
- Synonym: sornione