The Oxford English Dictionary has no entry for limoncello (or
lemoncello) , which is a lemon-flavoured Italian liqueur.

The newsletter says they are putting together an entry but the
earliest appearance they have (in English usage, I stress - I'm sure
the Italians have used the term for decades) is 1993.

I am going to look at some of my more chatty books on Italian food to
see if something turns up, but does anybody else know of an earlier
use?

"Richard Wright" > wrote in message
...
> The Oxford English Dictionary has no entry for limoncello (or
> lemoncello) , which is a lemon-flavoured Italian liqueur.
>
> The newsletter says they are putting together an entry but the
> earliest appearance they have (in English usage, I stress - I'm sure
> the Italians have used the term for decades) is 1993.
>
> I am going to look at some of my more chatty books on Italian food to
> see if something turns up, but does anybody else know of an earlier
> use?

I'm of the impression that limoncello is modern, for asa young naval officer
"on the beach" in Southern Italy, especially the Naples area and nearby
Amalfi coast, frequently, 1962-1965, I never recall seeing or hearing of
it...

Of course, liqueurs/appertifs come and go. On my last trip, Punt y Mes was
no longer stocked in small bars and Galliano/Strega had become almost
equally invisible, disappeared from both Italian and US barbacks (as the
Harvey Wallbanger has departed US bar menus, gone along with the memories of
"Sidecars" in chilled stemware).

The most popular anisette, Sambuca, now comes in a "black" version, unheard
of only a few decades ago. How can you drink it "con mosca", unable to see
the flies.

On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 19:56:36 GMT, "TOliver" >
wrote:

>
>"Richard Wright" > wrote in message
.. .
>> The Oxford English Dictionary has no entry for limoncello (or
>> lemoncello) , which is a lemon-flavoured Italian liqueur.
>>
>> The newsletter says they are putting together an entry but the
>> earliest appearance they have (in English usage, I stress - I'm sure
>> the Italians have used the term for decades) is 1993.
>>
>> I am going to look at some of my more chatty books on Italian food to
>> see if something turns up, but does anybody else know of an earlier
>> use?
>
>I'm of the impression that limoncello is modern, for asa young naval officer
>"on the beach" in Southern Italy, especially the Naples area and nearby
>Amalfi coast, frequently, 1962-1965, I never recall seeing or hearing of
>it...
>
>Of course, liqueurs/appertifs come and go. On my last trip, Punt y Mes was
>no longer stocked in small bars and Galliano/Strega had become almost
>equally invisible, disappeared from both Italian and US barbacks (as the
>Harvey Wallbanger has departed US bar menus, gone along with the memories of
>"Sidecars" in chilled stemware).
>
>The most popular anisette, Sambuca, now comes in a "black" version, unheard
>of only a few decades ago. How can you drink it "con mosca", unable to see
>the flies.
>

It looks as if you are right - 1988 may be the first use in Italy.

>http://www.limoncello.com/en/history.html

>The "Limoncello di Capri" and the "Cooperativa Solagri".
>
>At the start of the last century, Vincenza Canale, owner of a hotel on the island of Capri, was the first to offer limoncello, derived from the Caprian word 'limonillo', to her guests. Her descendants formed the Limoncello di Capri S.r.L. in 1988, the first company to patent and use the word 'Limoncello'.

In article >,
Richard Wright > wrote:

>The Oxford English Dictionary has no entry for limoncello (or
>lemoncello) , which is a lemon-flavoured Italian liqueur.

In Florio's 1611 English/Italian dictionary, limencello and lemoncello
are defined to be "a little lemmon". So beware sobriety in your
search.

-- greg

Or it could be lemoncellus, come to think of it. The form in the text
is lemoncellorum, genitive plural.

Andrew