The word dehors doesn't exactly sound Italian, does it? For one thing, the usual ‘i’ or ‘e’ to indicate a plural is replaced with an anglicised ‘s’.
Its singular form, dehor, doesn't follow standard Italian grammar rules, either.
So what is a dehor exactly and where does the word come from?
The word is used in Italian today to describe the terrace or outside area of a bar or a restaurant, and also includes the pavement just outside the establishment.
The word, as fellow francophiles have probably already guessed, originates from France, where in its most common usage it simply means 'outside'.
It's thought to have made its way across the border to Piedmont around 200 years ago. The first written attestation was in a Turin newspaper in 1877. Italian lexicographer and novelist Alfredo Panzini then published the word in ll Dizionario moderno in 1905.
The word is more commonly used in the northern regions of Piedmont, Lombardy and Aosta. Elsewhere in Italy you might have heard this space referred to as a terrazzo (terrace) or simply the spazio esterno (outdoor area).
I bar devono chiudere i dehors all'una di notte.
Bars must close their outdoor areas at 1pm.
Ti aspettiamo nel dehors del bar a pochi passi dal ponte di Rialto.
We are waiting for you outside a bar a few steps away from Rialto bridge.
Italian has another imported word that's also used when talking about nightlife: movida, which instead comes from Spanish, and is used more ironically.
So next time you want to enjoy an aperitivo outside with friends, these borrowed words will help you talk about it in Italian.
Do you have an Italian word or expression you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.