A rarely used noun that derived from the vulgar Latin verb brisare, to break. The dialectal version brisa is used in parts of northern Italy and I love the way the word sounds.
Briciola (plural briciole) is a diminutive form of bricia and it is commonly used.
Briciole usually refers to breadcrumbs, but also to other crumbled items, and even to intangible things, like happiness (una briciola di felicità).
Crumbles of butter, flour, fine polenta, sugar and ground almonds make a cake typical of Mantua, called sbrisolona. It is different from a typical crumble, because there is no fruit layer underneath the crunchy crumbles.
[This post is dedicated to Jeff, who noticed I had not explained the name of my blog.]
Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:
or launch the bricia audio file [mp3].
[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]
Ahhh! I like this word. Thanks to Jeff for noticing. Now we have and explanation. 😉
Paz
How very clever~yes, know we see the big picture! Thanks, Jeff..
I love how this word can also apply to intangible feelings. Some days feel like they crumble apart! Thank you for explaining!