Etymograph

English

prosciutto

Prosciutto comes from Italian prosciutto ‘ham’, from asciutto ‘dry’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sewg-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sewg-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*séwgeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sougō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsūgō1‘to suck’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsūgō2‘suck’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsūctus3‘drawn out, extracted’
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*perexsūctus3reconstructed
  8. Italianc. 1300–presentasciutto3‘dry’
  9. Italianc. 1300–presentprosciutto3‘ham’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1988prosciutto3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin exsugo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin exsuctus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English prosciutto
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1988, Joel E. Siegel, Heartfelt Fluff: “He also manages to extract refined performances from overseasoned…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sewg-Wiktionary, Latin exsugoreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*séwgetiWiktionary, Latin exsugoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sougōWiktionary, Latin exsugoreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsūgōWiktionary, Latin exsugo‘to suck’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsūgōWiktionary, Latin exsuctus‘suck’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsūctusWiktionary, English prosciutto‘drawn out, extracted’
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*perexsūctusWiktionary, English prosciuttoreconstructed
  8. Italianc. 1300–presentasciuttoWiktionary, English prosciutto‘dry’
  9. Italianc. 1300–presentprosciuttoWiktionary, English prosciutto‘ham’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1988prosciuttoWiktionary, English prosciutto. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1988, Joel E. Siegel, Heartfelt Fluff: “He also manages to extract refined performances from overseasoned…”

The story

Borrowed from Italian prosciutto (meaning 'ham', in general), from asciutto, with a change of prefix, or from a Vulgar Latin *perexsūctus, from per + Latin exsūctus.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sewg-

sick, suck, succulent, 6 more

through Latin sūgō ‘to suck’

suction, 3 more

Today it means

noun A dry-cured ham from Italy, thinly sliced.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “prosciutto”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin exsugo, Latin exsuctus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sewg- / prosciutto

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