spetacciare

Neapolitan

Alternative forms

• spetaccià (alt. spelling)

Etymology

From s- (“apart”) +‎ petaccia (“rag, shreg”) +‎ -are (verb-forming suffix).

Verb

spetacciare

1. to rip, shred, tear to pieces, maul

   Synonym: deslenzare

   La sajetta […] dove arriva, scarrupa, e llà spetaccia.

   The lightning bolt […] where it goes, it destroys, and there it tears.

References

• Rocco, Emmanuele (1882), “spetacciare”, in Vocabolario del dialetto napolitano‎