A expression as elegant as it is apparently confused: what exactly means “Born with the shirt“? It is surprising perhaps to know that there is a very strong bond between this phrase he is newborn children: its expressive strength is linked to the real and very rare event that occurs when a newborn is still wrapped in the light amniotic sack.
The word “shirt” derives from late Latin Camīsiaprobably of Celtic origin, initially was used by San Girolamo to indicate a military tunic. The term affirmed itself in vulgar already in Two-hundred Thanks to the Lombard poet Ugo di Posto, who quoted him in verse: “Camis q’Avance Sot La Gonela“(or” shirt that goes under the skirt “). Over time, the term has maintained the main concept of light garment worn in contact with the skin, which, as with many other clothing, has evolved over time albeit without completely distorting the original sense.
The expression “born with the shirt” slowly changed his meaningassuming ameaning metaphorical: the amniotic membrane It was perceived as a sort of natural protective guise of the newborn and turned into a perfect analogy to describe who was born in favorable conditions, protected from the outside world. Already in the nineteenth century the image of a newborn still wrapped in the bag was considered a symbol of good omenin fact they were defined as “shirt”, thus making the expression an effective and lasting way to indicate someone particularly lucky since birth.
Curious it is to note the ease with which expressions related to the events of thehuman experience: The alternative to being born with the shirt is, at some populations, “to be born with the hat”, this is because it may also happen that the amniotic bag breaks, but that some fragments remain attached to the head. This linguistic productivity Eco also echoes in other European languages: in English we find the phrase Born With in Caulin French Nuetre Coifféin Spanish nacer enmantilladofor example.
Saying someone who “born with a shirt” does not literally mean describing his birth as warm and envelopingbut we mean an ideal and propitious condition of life accompanied by a silent but very powerful wish: an extra touch of luck.
