would literally mean 'little house' ('-ino' being the diminutive of 'casa' - house). Of course, a 'little house' and a 'big room' would probably be about the same size .

Interestingly, as currently used, the word "casino" (accent on the penultimate syllable, and the 's' pronounced like the 'z' in 'zebra') in Italian means "brothel". It can also be used to mean mass confusion or racket (picture the bar fight of the Old West brothels ). In order to denote a gambling hall, you have to go to a " casino' " (accent on the last syllable, and included in the spelling of the word-- 's' still pronounced like a 'z' ).

Of course, it's interesting to postulate whether there was ever a time when they were the same word with multiple meanings, and the accent and pronunciation was changed at some point to separate them. I mean, it's not too difficult to imagine a brothel where lots of fighting, mass confusion, and gambling went on

Class dismissed

Brent J. Jensen
orbis non sufficit