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perche' poi
tirata a zero
Sep 23, 2019 19:03
4 yrs ago
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Italian term

stingere

Italian to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
"le loro vesti stingevano odore di trigonella" ecc.

This is part of the description of the old women on the bus at the beginning of Leonardo Sciascia's "The Day of the Owl." It seems pretty clear from the context that these women's clothing is "giving off" this odour, but I can't find any dictionary that gives something like "to give off/release" as a definition of "stingere". Am I missing something? Or can anyone find a relevant definition for "stingere" that isn't the one I'm imagining? Is this a peculiar, Sicilian use of the word?

Any help much appreciated!
Proposed translations (English)
4 emanate a faint scent of
4 gave off a // gave off an intense
4 seeped/wafted/trailed from

Discussion

Marco Solinas Sep 26, 2019:
To Asker Rose: "Il giorno della civetta was translated into English as "Mafia Vendetta" by Archibald Colquhoun and Arthur Oliver in 1963; as The Day of the Owl by Colquhoun and Oliver, with Equal Danger in 1989. I know it is too late to be useful for your job, but I might as well post it for your interest.
Kate Chaffer Sep 26, 2019:
A bit late but... The conductor looked at the dead man and then at the passengers. These included some women, old women who brought heavy sacks of white cloth and baskets full of eggs every morning; their clothes smelled of forage, manure and wood smoke; usually they grumbled and swore, now they sat mute, their faces as if disinterred from the silence of centuries.

https://full-english-books.net/english-books/full-book-the-d...
Rose Sneyd, DipTrans, PhD (asker) Sep 24, 2019:
Thanks very much for your thoughts, Marco. I was wondering if you could tell me who translated the novel apart from Archibald Colquhoun? I've found that every English language edition of the novel I've traced seems to be a re-print of his quite old translation, so would be very interested to know who the other translator is, if you could tell me. Thanks also for your thoughts on applying that definition to this context.
Lara Barnett Sep 23, 2019:
Existing translations I don't think you should copy somebody else's translation. These translators may have had the same issues as you in finding the correct target term, and if you do your own linguistic research you may find something even better than these two translations apparently available.
Lisa Jane Sep 23, 2019:
Agree with Marco The existing translation of the book should be consulted if possible...the definition of "stingere" in the Treccani seems to indeed suggest something (here an odour)that fades away little by little (poco a poco) just as a dye fades in the sun
Marco Solinas Sep 23, 2019:
To Asker This dictionary definition ( http://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/stingere/ ) suggests that the odor fades away from the women's clothes.
The full sentence reads " le loro vesti stingevano odore di trigonella, di stallatico, di legna bruciata;". The "stallatico" and "legna bruciata" may influence the translation.
Finally, there are two English translations of "Il gorno della civetta". Do you have access to them?

Proposed translations

11 mins
Selected

emanate a faint scent of

This is the meaning.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Lara Barnett : But would you really use "scent" for a spice? And we would probably say the "smell emanated", "emanated a scent" risks sounding a bit poetic, like a perfume ad.// Scent & aroma have very positive/pleasant connotations, I don't think this has.
3 hrs
Scent as "aroma", yes. However, reading what follows "trigonella" I would rather say odour.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Like Lara, I'm unsure about "scent", but "emanate" seems like a useful, strong verb"
4 hrs

gave off a // gave off an intense

My idea would be to use either smell or odour, preferably with "intense", which emphasises the verb, and say something like:

"Her clothes gave off an intense fenugreek odour " (or whatever)

"Her clothes gave off an (intense) smell of fenugreek."
Example sentence:

"These minty green nugs GIVE OFF AN INTENSE SMELL OF flower and fruit, which make it an incredibly tempting choice to hit from the first smell."

"...for the blossoms GIVE OFF AN INTENSE ODOUR of decay to draw carrion flies to pollinate it."

Reference:

https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/2722/the-temple-of-flora

https://weedrepublic.com/blogs/strains/green-poison-strain-review-everything-you-need-to-know-more

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13 hrs

seeped/wafted/trailed from

Another suggestion: I would flip the sentence structure a bit so that the smell is the subject, e.s.

"An odor of fenugreek seeped from their clothes..."
"The smell of fenugreek wafted from their clothes..."

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Note added at 16 hrs (2019-09-24 11:11:23 GMT)
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I missed the "ecc" part; checking the entire phrase, my first impulse was towards "A miasma of X,Y, Z seeped..." but that might incorrectly imply that the individual scents are rather mixed instead of the idea of one scent per woman, vaguely mixed just due to proximity. Also might not fit the tone, but I hope it's food for thought :)
Note from asker:
Definitely food for thought, thanks Kimberly! I think it might be fruitful to play around with the sentence structure, despite your well justified reservations. Thank you!
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