pollice verso
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Italian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Latin pollice versō.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
- Only used in fare il pollice verso (“to give the thumbs down”)
Usage notes[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Latin[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Literally, "with thumb turned".
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈpol.li.ke ˈu̯er.soː/, [ˈpɔlːʲɪkɛ ˈu̯ɛrs̠oː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈpol.li.t͡ʃe ˈver.so/, [ˈpɔlːit͡ʃe ˈvɛrso]
Phrase[edit]
Usage notes[edit]
Despite depictions common in movies, it is not clear whether the thumbs up or thumbs down indicated displeasure.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- “pollice verso”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers